My life began on the Forth Of July in 1973 in the County Of Rock Wisconsin. My childhood was brutal, my father was a schizophrenic who was violent and unstable, my mother is a very passive
women and she took most of the abuse. My creativity started very young, I used it as an escape
from the poverty and insanity that made up my chidhood. I have seven siblings, 4 brothers and 3
sisters. My family moved to Texas when I was ten years old or so. As a child I loved to draw and create in all sorts of ways, it was fun to me. In school I was usually the better artist in art class.
There were lots of times my art teachers used my work as examples for the class. I failed misrably at all other subjects other than art. As a freshmen I was in art 3 with the seniors and
was known for my artistic abilitys and all I wanted was to do art for the rest of my life. The next
year I dropped out and acquired a GED. At this point I was experimenting with painting usually
watercolors. Then I turned 18 and for some reason I wanted to be social, I had always been a loner. I met some friends and was invited into thier circle, at this point I gave up on painting. My break from art lasted for 6 years so much my new friends had no idea I had any creative abilitys at all. Before I knew it I was 25 years old and hadnt painted in years. I got the desire to paint again and started with oils this time. I struggled with this new medium for a while and was only producing very basic and simple stuff like landscapes. A couple of years went by and I was progressing. At the age of 27 I started to hear voices and become extremly paranoid and after an explosive episode I was arrested and taken to a mental ward in Austin where I was told I was schizophrenic. After this the only thing that brought me joy was painting. From what it seems to me schizophenia opened a creative door of some sort, although I was in and out of mental wards I managed to paint inbetween. This is when I started to produce much better art. The only thing about it was it was dark in nature, most likely cause by my misrable life which showed in my paintings. By 30 I was selling a few paintings here and there. As time went on I was getting better and better but still I couldnt ditch the darkness in my art. At 33 I made the front page of the local newpaper with an invite to an international art show in Amserdam. I had made some money off the artical but the hype didnt last. With the money not coming in anymore I took what was left to Calfornia only to find out the show canceled my invite and I never ended up going. Despite the set back California Inspired me and I slowly started producing much more complex work that wasnt so dark. Today I like to use bright colors and paint elabrate colorful paintings. My big deal is originality. I strive to be like no other artist, and if I were to describe my work i'd say my paintings are random thoughts and ideas. I dont plan anything out when I start to paint I just start with a single line placed on the canvas that grows into its own creation. When I paint I usually dont pay attention and the painting just grows and morphs into its own being. Today I live a stable life after years of dealing with my illness I learned over time to handle it better. I live by the beach in California now and plan to stay here for a very long time, I will keep painting untill I cant any more, today I sell few peices here and there and Im happy with that.