The Elders 

Mediums: India ink and high gloss paper.

My discovery of Native American portraiture inspired me to explore ways to articulate the emotion I saw within the images. I wanted to find a way to capture the wisdom, beauty, pain and agony. After exploring several mediums I discovered scratch art. It was bold, risky and emotional. I was able to use scratch art to convey a story visually by releasing it from within the black and discovering the white underneath. 

Old portraitures that helped inspire me to take up scratch art. 

Mediums: India ink and watercolor on high gloss board.

As I went through my creative discovery of The Elders, I began to unearth more recent information about the still prevalent exploitation of the native land and culture. This piece represents those struggles and the strong divide between today's native population and the american people. I used an X-Acto knife to scratch off the top layer of India ink. Once the eagle was complete, I applied watercolor to add color to the white board underneath. 

Two Worlds, Unknown 

Mediums: Spray paint on high gloss paper.

I first encountered spray paint art in Las Vegas, Nevada. I was instantly drawn to the intricate otherworldly cities and landscapes that could be created within minutes. After researching the tools and techniques used, I found the medium to be very spontaneous because it captured all the things you did within that moment. This was an enjoyable trial and error process. I had to plan my approach quickly because if the paint sits too long, you can no longer add the key details that bring the art to life. 

Street artists in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Mediums: Acrylic and spray paint on canvas.

I was afflicted with a concussion during a football game. During my recovery, basic tasks such as reading and writing became extremely difficult. I was experiencing throbbing headaches, frustration and confusion. After months of staying home, my emotions began to boil over. Art helped me with my recovery allowing me to release these feelings on canvas. Acrylic paint was used for the background. I designed a stencil for the feather and applied spray paint. 

Mediums: Acrylic on canvas.

Andy Warhol's pop art used bold bright colors, popular culture and innovative ways to represent them. I utilized a similar array of colors to characterize his iconic pop art style. I started with a basic outline sketch of Adam Levine, then blocked out the highlights and shadows. To render a sense of depth, I used warm colors for the highlights and cool colors for the shadows. 

Andy Warhol, inspired me to paint Adam Levine in a pop art style. 

Fusion arose from a mixture of my muses such as Native American culture, Indian mandalas and pop art. I drew the mandala crest with a pencil and then placed the deer into the center. I blocked out the highlights and shadows using cool colors for the deer and utilized metalic acrylic paint for the Buddha hand.  

Tiwahe was created as an entry for a college scholorship from The Oceanic Preservation Society. We were asked to create a piece of art depicting the beauty of blue whales and why they should be protected. I chose to use various shades of blue with an undertone of sea green to encapsulate the grace of the whale and the elegance of the ocean. 

Mediums: Acrylic on cardboard

While traveling through Arizona, I came across the history of the Hopi tribe and their famous Kachina masks. I was then introduced to paintings created by Tony Abeyta who specializes in the depictions of Katchina masks and dancers. I created a character who wears a mask that was reminiscent of the same linear design. 

Kachina mask used for inspiration

Mediums: Pen and pencil on paper.

Sketches 1 and 2 are focused on the different uses of a line. Sketch 3 is a drawing based on the aerial view of 3D objects. Sketch 4 is a drawing of 3D objects with a focal point. Sketch 5 is a still life drawing of a shoe. 

Mediums: Pen, watercolor and pencil on paper.

The first icon is a representation of the Native American spirit that takes the form of a Thunderbird. The second icon is a depiction of the fertility deity known as Kokpoelli. The third icon is a feather. The cut sections represent a warrior who has had many kills on the battlefield. The fourth icon is a bear which represents courage. The last icon is a watercolor and pen dreamcatcher. Dreamcatchers are mainly used as a talisman to protect people from nightmares. 

Mediums: Pencil on paper.

Beauty can be found within everything on Earth, even down to one of the smallest animals. 

Medium: Pen on paper.

Once I knew that I wanted to move in the direction of graphic design, I researched a wide variety of typefaces. I was drawn to the more free moving calligraphy styles and the slab serif fonts. These typefaces derived from those muses. 

Mediums: Pencil and pen on paper, digital media.

Nastilane Preservation was a project completed in a design class. The requirements were to design a logo that was in the shape of a triangle, circle or square. My inspiration arose from Alaskan Native killer whale depictions. I started by drawing basic sketches of killer whales, then drew a more refined sketch that could scan into illustrator and revert to a vector image, where I also added type. 

Israel Shotridge, Skilled painter and wood carver. He was a big influence in this project due to the depth of research I completed in order to correctly portray a Native Alaskan tribal pattern. 

Mediums: Acrylic and Airbrush on a skateboard.

A handful of students were chosen from my high school art class to design and paint a skateboard that was submitted to the Truth organization for their 'No Smoking' campaign where we won 10,000 dollars. I thrive on teamwork and working in a collaborative environment. I took the photography of the corporate man in the background, painted the dress and assisted with the hair.