YAY Horror Movie A Day 2015

I had the exciting opportunity to submit pieces to Yay LA Mag. They had a really fun project where artists picked horror movies and create work inspired by the films/shows/books. The following are the pieces I submitted and please check out the site: http://www.yaylamag.com/yay-hmad-2k15-obey-your-thirst/ so many incredible artists creating fun pieces of films we all love. Thank you again for the opportunity Yay! LA Mag :)

Side Project

Sometimes I find myself getting stuck as an artist. Creatively clogged up, to a point where no idea sounds fun enough to try and every small idea sounds pointless. To get myself back on track I like to ask myself these questions: Why do I paint? What do I love most about painting?
Why do I paint? I paint because I enjoy creating. Taking a blank canvas, and making something new that's never been done before. Seeing my imagination come to life in front of me brings me more joy than a Steelers win (if you know me at all you know that's a big deal).
What do I love most about painting? The challenge. The challenge to push my skills further each time I pick up a brush. To add more depth and detail than I did before, so that the viewer feels like they're looking through a window into another world.
So when I'm stuck I draw what I know,
I paint what I know, to remind myself of why I do what I do. There are times I hesitate with an idea because I don't want to be a cliche, but for this project I didn't care. I asked myself: if I could fill this huge blank space with something, what would it be? My answer, the things I love. So with that I decided to paint a 4'x5' cradled wood panel, as if it were a giant pile of skulls. I may or may not add other little things to it, but for now it's a pile of skulls, and it makes me happy to look at. That may seem morbid if you don't know me. However I enjoy looking at them because I know how difficult it is to make them look real. The time it take to make them look accurate is frustrating, challenging, and that's why I love it. I have always been a very competitive person, and there is no one I'd rather compete against than myself. To continually best myself makes me very happy. I know I'm capable of achieving my goals, so when this one is finished I know I'll be very proud and ready to do it all over again.