Biography



I was raised in Edmonds, Washington, and spent my childhood hunting for frogs and pollywogs, climbing trees and pretending to be a special forces soldier in the Vietnam War. I drew a lot of pictures of animals and tender portraits of submachine guns and battle scenes. I used to wander the neighborhood with a black, wooden AK-47 I made in Grandpa's shop. I can't do that anymore. My first commissions were for portraits of our family's pet parrots. Relatives paid me $20 per piece which bought a lot of candy and video games back in the day. In my teen years I discovered Rock n' Roll. I copied album covers by Van Halen, Def Leppard and the Scorpions. I made artwork for my imaginary band, Blüdy Thunder. Production switched from guns to guitars in grandpa's shop. I soon had a collection of instruments that were perfectly suitable for imaginary "air" concerts. Once I saw Salvador Dali's work in high school, I promptly began imitating him. I found another source of imitation in the work of the German surrealist Max Ernst. Traces of these influences can be all be found in my current work.