ABOUT ME

I have been an artist all my life – some of my earliest memories are sitting on my bed with a sketchpad. My father and I used to put together a lot of craft items from models and dioramas to clay pots and paintings. In high school, he and I actually fought over a set of charcoal pastels that we were constantly stealing from each other (since he passed, they are among my treasures in my art studio).

After high school, my plans to go to art school were derailed by getting a job at a small ad agency when my parents and I moved to Florida in 1981. I quickly became their art director learning more on the job than I probably would have in formal education. I created a variety of graphics including logos, business cards, trade show booths, catalogs and brochures both for the agency and freelance. I mastered the now lost arts of mechanical paste-ups and typesetting as well as commercial illustration.

I started exploring 3D design and animation in the late 1980s with my beloved Commodore 64 which upgraded to an Amiga 2000 and 4000T allowing me to explore the Video Toaster and Lightwave 3D, which I taught for a few years at Full Sail University. I was an early explorer of the internet with Compuserve and text-based games.

Another love is science fiction since I “discovered” the original Star Trek series in the late 70s leading me to start a fan club to help meet like minded friends in Florida. Eventually it lead me to launch Scifispace.com and run a successful science-fiction convention for 13 years. I started my venture into retail in the late 80s selling at sci-fi conventions and expanded my love of gaming to Anarchy Online, World of Warcraft and others.

Eventually all these interests led me to create LABEShops and it’s family of online stores in 2001. My creative ventures took a back seat to building the ecommerce business and it wasn’t until I converted an unused bedroom to an art studio in 2019 that I dove back into art in a big way. My studio is a creative haven letting me explore my past loves of painting and 3D animation as well as discover new ways of creating art.

My studio now includes tools for video production and editing, 3D modeling and printing, tee-shirt and paper crafting, and jewelry creation in wire wrapping and metal smithing. I work with Amazon and print on demand sites such as Redbubble and TeePublic to produce my art on apparel, stickers, mugs, and more. My dog Zoey along with several cats keep me company (though the cats are not allowed in my art studio) as I continue to learn and develop my creative talents. I am also a student of metaphysics having been meditating daily since the age of 12 and earned my Reiki Master certificate during the Covid lockdown in 2020.

This site serves as an artist’s portfolio as well as links to products you can buy – both ones I have created and ones I sell in my ecommerce shops. I take commissions for custom work so if you need something special for a gift or event, please contact me and I will be happy to work with you.