The early years of my life were pretty cool, and the current years seem to be doing just as well. I still like the music I grew up with as a little kid, still into the art, and still building hot rods for the streets. I believe it all corresponds and connects from the very start, which makes me confident that at a very young age I took the first steps on this journey, with the help from special, that now has a long spanning path behind me, for a reason. I remember certain nudges at a young age, and it's become a core principle shaping my intentions and actions of today. It's been comprised of fast straightaways, tight curves, longshots, wins, losses and a lot more, and I love it. There's certainly not a shortage of stories.

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At a very young age I started to develope a sense of value towards my art, and I'm so gald I did. Every few years I love looking through all the artwork I saved as a little kid, as a student in grade school and as a student in graphic design courses I attend after I graduated in 1985. Was this drawing a precurser or a foreshadow? Perhaps, because I happen to have an old blue Chevy truck on its way to becoming a cool hot rod for the weekend streets. And, more inportantly, my mom and dad are able to witness what their the support and encouragement as led to.
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The 70's were an amazing time, especially towards the end of the decade when racing BMX bikes was all the rage among many of us kids around the United States. The racers and parents on the local circuit always helped each other out, and I had high respect for the ones who helped me. Because of that, and my parents' funding, I found myself ranking 8th in Colorado for the National Bicycle Association.

During that 'whole lotta fun' era, there were many cool BMX related milestones that were contributing to my 'kid' resume. They included a full page photo of me jumping a photographer on the 'old school' printed front page of The Denver Post newspaper. I also had performance opportunities as a stunt performer in a BMX commercial, and live 'ramp-to-ramp' jumps at special events. I think the best experience I gained at that time was jumping Denver's KIMN 95 AM mascot, The KIMN Chicken, in front of a gathering crowd. I loved that experience!

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Enter the 80s, and it was amazing! Like a pinhole getting getting closer, the light was getting larger towards graduation, we had the music and as the Bon Jovi lyric goes... 'Remember days of skipping school. Racing cars and being cool." with my high school sweetheart. It was a time when self-inflected battle jeans and jean jackets with band patches made up a good percentage of the attire in our culture. It really united many of us, and still does to this day.

Along with being a part of that culture, I was still carrying interest in art a creativity I had with me from childhood. Enrolling into the offered art classes was a high priority to me during those four years. I loved the courses, and outside of them it was common for me to sit in the not-so-thrilling academic classes and reproduce band logos using a pen or 'tooth scared' pencil. A lot of creations happened on those Pee Chee folders, notebooks, desktops, and, yes, those earlier referred to jeans. With no surprise, along with dominating the 'plastered poster' decor in my room, KISS was also the dominant logo taking up real estate on the surfaces, and that nonchalant 'name specific' foreshadow played out decades later for me.

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Still without really knowing where all this was leading, I knew something was happening. Something was brewing. As the 80s were heading to their end, it caught my attention that many local bands were performing without their logo on a backdrop proudly flying behind them on stage. So, I approached a popular local band one night and proposed a backdrop idea, and Ice-9 became the first band in my backdrop portfolio. I would do anything to have that photo! I did a handful of projects for bands, including my first ever logo design as a beginning professional and it just happened to be for a group out of Las Vegas called Tarafire, but without the internet and not in a full blown entertainment city, painting backdrops was not a feasible way to make a full-time living.

I looked at the bigger picture and attended graphic art programs to become more experienced with commercial graphics for the more accessible business and corporate level projects. With very high marks being earned at the end of the programs and the continuing high ambition, it was time to charge forward. MENTION SCHOOL NAMES.

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My journey eventually led me to the entertainment capital of the world, where I painted billboards on the iconic Las Vegas strip and around town. Joining a large media company as a painter provided me with invaluable experience. I found myself working alongside some of the industry's top talents while emerged by world-famous buildings around us and tourists on the sidewalks below. What an amazing memory.
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In early 1995, I moved back to the slower paced city of Denver with much more experience in larger graphics. I started a commercial art business painting graphics for corporations and some U.S. Government projects, including the United States Postal Service and The Air Force Falcons. After almost 13 years of this additional painting experience while flying solo, the love for stage backdrops was still pulling at my sleeve. In 2010, and with the internet quickly becoming a powerful resource, I knew I could reach bands all around the world, and Rock City Backdrops was born.

Over the past 14 years, I've painted backdrops for numerous high-profile bands embarking on tours, including my childhood favorite, Kiss, the logo on my old school books. While the backdrop for their private party in Hollywood, CA. may have been modest in size and very simple in design, it holds significant importance in my art career for obvious reasons. Alongside Kiss, I've had the privilege of painting for dozens of other high profile bands I grew up listening to while knowing that millions of rock fans around the world have seen my paintings. Because of that, something even more special had been calling. A way to pay-it-forward.

They said yes! A few days prior to visiting my dad in Vegas, I reached out to a youth camp in Pahrump, NV. asking if they would be interested in having a guest speaker. It turned out to be my first, and it felt right. The Children's Art Gallery officially launched on Valentine's Day in 2024 with a great amount of momentum and success right out of the gate. The future looks extremely promising and productive with the pop-up art galleries for kids, sharing my experience and personal perspectives as a guest speaker for groups, and providing art supplies to kids who don't have access to those tools of creativity.