We all have a story to tell. It’s something I have believed my entire life and has been much of

my professional focus. Everyone wants and deserves to be heard. In our modern world, it is

often easy to forget this. We spend so much of our time staring into tiny boxes waiting for

some sort of connection. Waiting for someone to hear us as we tell our stories each day

through our shares. I once said that we live in a technological time square and the events of

this year have truly proved that. Many of us have spent 2020 feeling isolated from the

surrounding world. The pieces shared in the Shamanic Innovations collection represent my

own feelings of isolation during a period of self-discovery.

I didn’t always see the unique gifts that I offer the world. Like many people, I have lived at

times with doubt standing in the way of talent. My youth was spent creating and entertaining

those around me. Like many though in my adult years I put away that internal spark. I settled

for a corporate life that left me unhappy. I felt helpless in every way possible watching the

world burn from the comfort of a studio chair.

A few years back, I picked up a canvas and began to explore the world around me. A series

of events left me at the end of 2016 feeling broken. Using paint, I decided to go inward and

document the experience as best possible, giving myself a roadmap back. Since that

life-changing experience, I’m motivated to express myself in ways I didn’t know I was

capable of. My work is not so much done for artistry as it is therapy, having pulled me from a

dark place and back to joy. It’s so much better to focus on the brightness of life than the

gloom it is often seen as.

There is something addictive about creating. You get a vision of the idea in your head that is

so strongly wanting to come out that everything else in life moves aside from this change.

The spark haunts you while awake and stirs more in your mind as you try to sleep. Almost

how some would describe a spiritual calling from God or an awakened connection to one’s

higher self. I cannot begin to express how many dreams I have had of artwork over these

past few years. Some were nightmares filled with anger and reminders of loss, while others

were whimsical fantasies filled with neon and glitter. Shamanic Innovations is a collection of

these visionary creations. With each creation, I give a little piece of my soul journey over

these past few years with the world. With all the doom and gloom we have in our world today

it is nice to have some light and love to share.

A signature throughout many of my pieces is an inspiring glow. This is reminding the viewer

that despite whatever life throws your way, you’ve got this and can handle it. It’s a motto and

mantra I have taken to heart knowing that self-expression is essential for our human

existence. In my  mornings I wake up grateful to be able to creatively express myself without

inhibition, that’s why the work is so free-flowing. My folk art, my abstract pieces, my

sculptures are literal expressions of creative freedom. I want the viewer to hold witness to

my metamorphosis from inward-eating stasis to a floetic exhibition.

The process of creation is truly ceremonial for me. The marks are canmade in the air just before the

paint hits the surface. The gentle forcefulness of each shake of the bottle. That newness

smell when you take the plastic covering off a stretched canvas. I love how my fingers look

after they have picked up a few different colors. How a few drops of cell activator and a little

heat can make a scene come alive. It’s amazing to stretch and grow a scene on what was

once a blank surface. I feel honored each time I am able to share one of these creations with

the public.

I’m pretty sure that my artwork breaks a few rules. There is very little measuring outside of

the eyeball line. My surfaces are normally found covered in scratches and weblike patterns

that show the connection from where I have been to where I am going as a creative artist.

My hope is that those viewing the works here will gain a sense of inspiration and hope from

seeing them, as I have gained inspiration and hope in making them.

My influences to become an artist include Miles Davis, Jim Carey, and George W Bush.

Those three men, in particular, are known for wildly different things. But they each decided at

some point to use colors to express what was in their minds. The list also includes those

traditional names like Picasso, Pollock, and Dali. They are joined by a little lady named Julie

Cutts who pours her heart out from Australia, late castle builder Howard Solomon, and a

wide range of African and Native American artists. I would also include time spent in the 90s

rave scene, Daoist teachings, plant medicine ceremonies, and the ever-talented Prince as

inspirations.