As far back as I remember I've always wanted to be a gangster... Sorry, wrong intro. I meant to say I've always wanted to be an artist.  Ever since I was able to hold a crayon, I've been drawing. My first subjects were Superman and Santa Claus, over and over again. What started out as a hobby quickly became my passion. I was always drawing or making something. 

 

My family was always supportive, probably since it kept me quiet and from acting up. My grandfather used to bring me home stacks of cardboard sheets from the paper bag factory he worked at and I would use them to either draw on or make things out of. 

 

Obviously, art was my favorite subject throughout school. Although, there really wasn't any official art class, they used to let us draw and every once in a while there would be a poster contest.  I still think I was robbed of the 5th grade Halloween poster contest! 

 

I received my first formal art training when I went to School of Visual arts and later transferred to Pratt to study Graphic Design.  This is where I learned  many of the techniques I use today. Also, at the time I was at Pratt, the computer was just starting to be used as the main tool in Graphic Design. I learned the basics of Photoshop, Illustrator, and Quark and at the same time, learned to do camera-ready layout by hand.  After the death of my father, I soon lost interest in school and never finished.  

 

In 1999, I landed an entry level graphic artist position at Multi-Media Publishing, a real estate magazine publisher. Here, I was able to use the skills I learned in school while learning a ton more. It was also very cool to see my work printed in a magazine.  I've been working there for 16 years so far.  Throughout this time, I have also done some freelance work and drawings as well.