lifetime drawer, seldomtime finisher
Drawing has always been a way to explore whatever my current obsession is, or my many lifetime obsessions, also a semi-productive cope for my ADHD and other behavior problems

always a fantasy, mythology and animal geek, dragons were a perpetual obsession. my interest in contemporary and fossil animals informed my ability to draw dragons as i studied their anatomical features to produce more believable monsters.

my adolescent art career was that of a weaboo fujoshi degenerate. this was when i began posting my awkward bishounen lord of the rings fanart on deviantart, though i still very into dragons, animals and monsters. my personal aesthetic at this time was very inspired by megalithic cultures of the past with a dash of psychedelia and british invasion rock. i was fascinated by neolithic and bronze age artwork and developed a fascination with traditional crafts and ancestral skills. weta workshop became my rockstars as i devoured the concept art for the lotr movies and the amazing props, sets costumes and makeup it took to realize tolkien’s legendarium on screen.

my biggest achievement in High school was winning the Heinz ketchup creativity contest for my grade level in 2007, though i cant imagine there was much competition. nonetheless, my art nouveau inspired design was printed on 16 million ketchup packets distributed nationwide and earned my school some honor, money for art supplies and a year supply of ketchup for our cafeteria .

i dropped out of college in 2011, with the death of my father being the primary factor in this. but in truth i was not doing well socially or academically either. mentally at a low point during and after college, my interest in anime renewed and i started drawing fanart again while floating between part time jobs and periods of mental breakdown. this was the period i started posting on tumblr. eventually i found full time employment at a motel as a laundry and housekeeping attendant.

my artistic interest in animals and anatomy as well as my general interest in nature led me to start venturing out farther to seek animal bones, especially skulls and sheds and eventually graduated to scavenging fresh roadkills for food and craft purposes, mostly dabbling in hide tanning. i tried twice to start an etsy store but never got it off the ground because i became overwhelmed by it all. mostly i was convinced i would flake out and not be able to keep on top of all the duties of running a business, or i was a fraid that it would be a fruitless effort.

My art career didn’t really begin until roughly 2016 when i finally mustered up enough guts to start offering commissions on tumblr. I got one commission from a longtime/friend follower for which i was very grateful. I got a few other small commissions through family and friends through 2017. later in 2017 i started working at a laundromat as a wash n fold attendant where the owner asked me to produce regular chalkboard illustrations to advertise our hours for the month. the laundromat was a transformative experience as it allowed me many opportunities to share my work with others, often just by leaving my sketchbook out. I endeared many of our regular customers by producing drawings on their laundry orde tickets, many of whom saved and collected them.

in 2018 i finally opened my redbubble shop

2019 i was asked to produce illustrations for the newsletter of the Nature Sanctuary Society of WNY which i did into 2023 before having to give it up due to burnout.

2019 was also the year i began self publishing my artwork as blank greeting cards. i was still riding the energy boost i got from having some facetime with the famous caricature artists that were using the laundromat facilities while in town for the erie county fair. after a while i branched out and attempted to hawk them at Craft fairs with modest success. the card business was fun for a while but i had to give more attention to other facets of life and these fell by the wayside for a while. I still produce cards under my ‘Mule Drawn’ label for my personal use.

i continued to pursue commissions in 2020 through 2022, mostly pet portraits during the holiday seasons of those years

in 2021 i opened my teespring store under my ‘Fermented tees’ label. this was also the first year i worked as a caricature artist at the Erie County Fair. i did this for a second season with intent to travel with the company but do to life factors was unable to do this. 2022 was the year i began working in the shop of a nearby electrical contractor where after a few months began an apprenticeship with this company. i am now entering my 3rd year with this company and continue to expand my electrical skillset. currently most of my experience being in residential service upgrades and standby generator installations. after quitting the laundromat in april of 2024, i am now building up creative steam again with intent to reinvigorate my prior enterprises.in 2025 and beyond

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