My Career and Influences
How I got started
My superhero fan art career started when I was six years old. My first attempts were based on my older brother’s comic books collection which heavily featured Iron Man. My budding artistic skills were encouraged by my parents. Our northern Wisconsin community carried school supplies year-round. Mom and Dad encouraged my budding skills; a supply of wire-bound lined notebooks and number two pencils was always available when I needed more.
My first real art supplies came from a few years later when a family friend (Hi, Brenda!) saw what I was doing and told my brother, “This kid needs a sketchbook.” That December she armed me with my first sketchbook, colored pencils and a kneaded eraser.
I often drew from comic books, and sometimes people or wildlife typical near our house. Spiderman quickly became my favorite – who wouldn’t like a smart-mouthed, web slinger that’s the alter-ego of non‑descript Peter Parker? His witty comebacks and consistent besting of the bad guys filled my sketchbooks. When I was in high school, I received a Nintendo entertainment system and my own 17-inch color television. My destiny was readily apparent – a love of video games and superheroes.
I moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and attended the University of Oshkosh, graduating with a degree in Graphic Arts and a minor in Fine Arts. Life quickly became about my family and sketchbooks stopped being a regular part of my days as I shuttled kids to and from various events and soccer games.
In 2015, I had the opportunity to begin drawing again. Life took me on some side roads and detours, but with my kids in high school, I found I had time to rediscover what I enjoyed. I picked up some conte crayons and new sketchbook, and rediscovered my love of drawing, including superheroes.
Today, I live outside of Oshkosh with my wife Stacie. We’ve blended our families into the nerdiest group of adults with an eclectic fandom ranging from niche references in literature and British television, to the same pop culture icons of my youth that have spawned new generations of Spidey fans. My art reflects not only my interests but also the interests of two daughters, two stepchildren, a pair of sons-in-law, and two grandchildren.
I use graphic design techniques to create the files for my machine embroidery pieces. I’ve been in the embroidery industry for 18 of my 25+ year career. One of my favorite things about my art is combining traditional art techniques in new ways for this body of work. I’m heavily influenced by modern artworks in traditional methods, as well as newer mediums such as digital art used for video games. My artistic community boasts of lino graph print makers, oil painters, and fiber artists specializing in hand-stitched embroidery, knitting and quilting.
Spider-Man is still my favorite. He didn’t need to be a superhero. He could have hidden his powers and continued to be an ordinary teenager – albeit one with a talent for sports. Instead, he decided to risk his life to become the protector of Queens. Uncle Ben and Aunt May raised him to be responsible with the talents and gifts he had been given at birth. To Peter, the bite from a radio-active spider was one more talent and gift that he could use to make the world better. I’m much closer to Uncle Ben’s age these days, and I’m finding that like Peter, I want to use my talents and gifts to make the world better. You won’t find me slinging webs or flying across the Oshkosh skyline. Instead, I create art that reflects the dreams and wishes that we grow up with, and never quite let go of.
Thanks for being here.
