Parallax Metal Art

My journey as an artist started back in my childhood. I grew up on a large tree farm in a beautiful river valley located just east of Bellingham, Wa. Surrounded by nature and amazing scenery, I would often spend entire days adventuring in the woods and exploring the outdoors. One of the benefits of growing up away from a large town or city was that it allowed for extraordinary stargazing. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been captivated with the night sky. I would lay out at night, staring at the stars, planets, and other objects, imagining what they might look like beyond the simple glimmering dots I could see. I feel like those experiences have stuck with me all my life and definitely influence my art.

 

As a teenager, my family life went through an extremely harsh period where I found myself struggling with deep depression. Being raised to always have a passionate outlook on life, I began focusing on positive and healthy ways to overcome the hardship I was facing. Along with playing music, I would write poetry and short stories, but still felt I needed a different outlet to engage myself. I’ve always had a mechanically orientated mind and enjoyed tinkering with engines, building small rockets, or doing anything that involved some hands-on logical problem solving. One of my first jobs growing up was cleaning large equipment at a machine shop. It was a simple job, but l became fascinated with the ability these machines gave someone to fabricate almost anything. This inspired me to get more involved in woodworking. Making anything from vases to guitars, I would spend time learning how to use every tool I could get my hands on.

 

Fast forward to adult life and the earlier days of the internet, I taught myself HTML code and began designing websites for businesses. I love graphic design and the freedom of creating amazing work with an image editor and some coding. While in college, I took several graphic design courses and enjoyed honing my skills in that way. However, I also grew disinterested with sitting at a desk for hours on end, grinding away in front of a monitor. I found that I needed to do something that would give me the pleasure of expressing myself artistically, but would also allow me to develop skills in a more tangible way. So, I decided to pursue a career as a painter. And no, not a Jackson Pollock type of painter… but instead, an industrial/automotive painter. Eventually aquiring over two decades of fabrication and painting experience, I’ve had the opportunity to work on everything from helicopters and boats to classic muscle cars and custom motorcycles… and now, my own art!

 

Today, I find myself with the desire to produce art that expresses the beauty of the area I live, my life experiences, and the skills I have picked up along the way. When I began creating metal art, all I wanted was something unique and vibrant to place on the wall in my living room. Searching the internet, I couldn’t quite find exactly what I wanted. There are some amazing metal artists out there, but my particular taste drove me to attempt creating my own. From the minute I began my first piece, I felt like painted metal art was something that spoke to who I am. I love metal work of any kind and using metal as the base for my art just seemed natural for me. It’s important to me that the inherent beauty of the metal is maintained in my art. I try to use color and paint only as an accent to the raw metal and allow the metal to do the shining on its own. Of course, there is trial and error involved in any artistic process, but I love to challenge myself and am always looking forward to creating even more interesting and thought inspiring pieces. 

 

I have also played bass guitar for over 20 years and have been in many fun bands along the way. Music is a big part of my life and I couldn't imagine working on my metal art without having some good music in the background. I still explore the outdoors often, from backcountry hiking to kayaking, and am proud to call the Pacific Northwest my home.

 

I love that there is no wrong way to create art. It exists in everything around us and everyone has an artistic ability, one way or another. I hope you enjoy viewing my art and that it inspires you to create something with your artistic side!