Throughout my life I’ve considered myself different things: friend, lover, son, brother, dad, writer, artist. . . but for the last 30 years, to a large extent, I’ve cling tightly to one identity: graphic designer. I’m a good designer, a skilled craftsman. I’ve grown as a designer, taught design to college students, and worked as […]
I don’t know – I was wrong
“Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word.” – Elton John We live in a media age of no forgiveness. Cancel culture. Flip flopping is bad. It’s a time when comedians get in trouble for doing what we ask them to do, comments from a previous decade or more disqualify you for being accepted in the […]
Om. . .
The past few weeks I’ve been trying to sell my art the local farmers market. Each time, I pack a tent, table, chair, drawing supplies, prints and originals and drive a few miles to St. Paul’s UCC and set up a little display of my work across from the produce stands. There’s a decent-sized crowd […]
Let Them Eat Art
I can’t believe I neglected to post this here. . . This Friday, July 12th, I’m participating in a local art festival, and this art festival is perfect for me! I visited it last year, and as one participating artist told me, it’s different because at this art show the artists are expected to work […]
Process Notes Vol 1. . .
I wanted to write out a quick note on my silhouette art process. Several months ago I went to my kids’ school to work on a drawing for them. While there, my daughter’s teacher asked if she could commission a piece from me. . . she wanted a “bearcat” for her daughter’s school, McKendree University. […]
This is not The Greatest Book in the World, no. This is just a tribute.
My son loves to read! It’s one thing I’ve done right as a parent. Encouraging him to read. He’s found so many series and stories that he loves. He will not be told what to read, but he doesn’t mind being told to read. Originally he wanted a drawing of mine and we talked about […]
You can fly!…
I’ve been doing this series of drawing for a year now—I only have a few to show for it. But I really love doing it and love how they’ve all turned out. I’ve only been posting them to social media, which seems odd when I have a professional blog and website. I’ll make a fine […]
The Sweet Things
You think of abandoned buildings as growing colder as they become more empty, but the house felt warmer—a stuffy heat since the window unit and fans had been shut off and packed up. The bare windows let in more sun, bringing a reminder of the old shade trees cut down the summer before. The space […]
Heartbroken
A couple weeks ago I had to break up with someone—a client I had been working with. We were both on different pages ideologically, we had different visions. It’s not that I was wrong and she was right, or vice versa, we just weren’t in the same place. And that’s ok as people, but that’s […]
Walking Alone
For the majority of my professional career I have taken walk breaks. Time out to walk the streets around wherever I’m working. Time to get up and move—like recess for grown-ups. Over the years I’ve had multiple walking partners, coworkers and friends, but for the majority of those years (at two different employers and during […]