What's your primary medium?
My primary focus is digital art. When I first got into art, being dyslexic, it didn't make sense to me. But when I started studying art in the graphic world and I started seeing everything through layers it started to make sense to me. It was mind boggling. I would look at a painting and all of a sudden go (*boom*) and I would be like oh, that's the shading layer! And it was this ginormous epiphany for me in art. I'm still studying art every day between lighting, shading and coloring. Then I had this other moment where I really love tattoos. In fact, tattoo therapy is what I considered it. One day I was having this moment where I was like “I really love tattoos. How can I get into that medium?” That's where I am now. I'm a tattoo padawan working with skin and coming from a digital art background.
How long have you been doing art?
I've been doing art for about 15 years but it was kind of an on and off situation. I went to school for graphic art and design/computer science and realized I didn't want to move to Seattle and live that way so I ended up disregarding art for a long time. It wasn't until about two years ago, you know, you hit that deep depression and you end up going through this moment of change and all of a sudden, you're up at 3am still doing art and you don't even realize you're doing it. But you know, all the feelings and all that energy is put into that piece and then you're just like well, that's where I'm at right now, I'm pouring my energy into the creation of something from nothing.
Why is art important?
Art is important because depending on what is going on in your world, or the world or politics or however you want to view it, this energy ends up stored within yourself and sometimes you're not able to relieve it in other ways. So I feel like artists find this way to put it into some type of form, whether it's paint or digital work and then all those feelings and emotions and energy get poured into that piece. And it can be some of the best political work, or the most touching piece of art that somebody has ever seen. And, you know, you've spent a whole month on it and then to get that feedback, it’s amazing to have somebody feel what you felt through that piece. It's like cooking for somebody. It's the gratitude without it really having to be said and it's just a beautiful situation.
Where do you get your inspiration?
A lot of my inspiration is actually drawn from my friends around the world and local artists. My friend Justin White, my friend Ashley, Megan-The Naked Neighbor. It's these influences by other people that creates this community of artists that are just supporting each other and driving each other. Like, I love what you're doing, let's keep this going. It's not ever cutthroat. If somebody wants a giant portrait of something, I would direct them to some of my favorite painting artists. If they need some type of digital work or anything like that, they would direct it to me. So it's a huge community helping each other without creating roadblocks or specifications or anything like that. It's just very beautiful to see the Boise art scene grow and to be able to push each other toward the forefront and talk about how amazing it actually is for Boise art.
What drives you to create?
Oh my gosh, what drives me to create. It's the idea that gets me out of bed. For me, I always appreciate being able to draw something from nothing. I have to visually see it completely in my brain. Then, when it's visually in my brain, no matter where I am or what time it is, I need to get up and start making it because I see it so vividly and I need to start making it. That was part of the reason why I really love the digital aspect. It’s like, no matter where I'm at, I just pull out my iPad, and scribble an idea. Then I take that scribbled idea and then I perfect it into a cleaner, more perfect image of what was, or what is rolling around in my brain.
Are there opportunities you feel you've had in Boise you might not have had elsewhere?
Yes, because we are such a close knit community and in this moment of growing we're all so supportive and loving and directional in that aspect. You know, how can we help each other grow? Whether you're a musician, or a person that makes jewelry, or a painter or digital artist. I feel because of our community being so small, it has this huge potential for growth and to give back as it expands. I think over the years more and more artists are going to come in and that sense of community, I'm really hoping, will stay. Because of that wonderful growth that is happening right now, like, you can't walk around downtown nowadays without noticing some of the most amazing artists that you would have never seen years ago because people would have considered it graffiti or distasteful. But now when Treefort hits it's like the whole town is gorgeous. It's like this musical, artistic parade and that's another thing that I feel grew from the whole art community. Like how can we come together with musicians and artists and food and beer and celebrate each other? I think that's a key to Boise right now, the community of artists.
Is art something you'll ever stop?
Absolutely not. I had a moment where I realized art was driving me and it was my passion. At the end of the day, who cares about the day job when you have this passion you're pouring every single minute into and someday it could show fruition of something beautiful. One of my favorite accomplishments is that I got to work with a friend named Daniel for Paddles Up Poké, and you can go downtown and you can go check out one of my pieces that he has displayed on his restaurant. That same piece is now in over 700 copies of magazines throughout resorts of Idaho and that right there is a huge hit to my heart. It feels like an accomplishment and it wouldn't have been done without the community of Boise driving each other to be better and boosting each other up. And that right there is why I still do it.
What's it like to create a commission piece?
I've worked with a handful of amazing people. I’ve worked with Waffle Me Up, Guru Donuts, Paddles Up, The Kula Connection. It's really amazing because a lot of the time you don't think you can make it in the world as an artist, but when you start taking it into your own hands and connecting with these people and you believe in their idea, they'll start believing in your idea. And at that point, they're coming to you and being like, “I have an idea. Can you make this happen?” And you know, that right there is an amazing thing. To be able to take someone's idea, come back, and they're just like “You made this better than I could have ever imagined!” That's one of the things that keeps you driving for art because art nowadays is different. Even how you access it has changed.
Is it easier for you to work on an original piece or commission?
Doing an original piece of course. You are the most free when you're doing a piece for yourself because really it's just a thought that's going in and out of a flow. Whereas I feel like when you're working on a commission for a person it's sometimes very specific, but that's okay because if you're able to take someone's idea that they've made out of very specific stuff and if you're able to create it as an art piece, that's absolutely incredible.