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BIO:
I was born breech during a freak
blizzard. My mother was bleeding to death and I was being choked by my
own umbilical cord. It was a veritable Greek tragedy. The doctor made a
snap judgment and in order to save us both, he grabbed my little feet
and yanked for all his might. He broke my right arm ( I am a lefty) and
because my mother was so doped up, when they asked her what to put on
the birth certificate, they thought she said Dawn. Not even a full 10
minutes into the world and I was already on my way to becoming a cynic,
or the next Johnny Cash hit.
I grew up watching the wonderful monster
movies of the atomic age with my father and 3 brothers. Saturday nights
were junk food, root beer floats and after an excruciatingly long late
night news cast, Gregory the Grave walker and his double feature of
horror, mayhem and giant lizards destroying Tokyo! My mother would
remark to my father how those movies were sure to rot our brains and she
was right. She knew those horrifying, yet tantalizing celluloid terrors
were going to eat away at my tender, ohh so tasty, brain cells, until
the only thing left was a twisted mass of forever tainted grey matter.
Of course, my mother was not completely innocent. She did introduce me
to the likes of Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Clive Barker.
Now, being a Catholic child of the Cold
War, I was exposed to the wonders of living with the imminent threat of
nuclear holocaust and the certainty that when it came I was going to
hell for numerous transgressions I committed daily against the good
Lord. So, being a creative child, I put crayon to paper in order to make
sense of all the terrifying imagery swirling through my young
impressionable brain. Demons to punish me for my sinful ways, men who
turn into wolves, vampires, flies, hamsters and any other imaginable
radiation, or hell induced transmutations. Giant sharks, rats, lizards,
spiders, ants, bears, mosquitoes, all intent on eating the population of
the world (usually starting at my house, was what I was sure of). And,
let’s not forget those damn evil, creepy ass clowns. Of course, there
were the obligatory parent-teacher conferences to discuss the copious
amounts of red crayon and finger paint my snowman pictures always seemed
to contain, and was everything okay at home?
I attended college briefly, where I was introduced to the amazing world
of art. Francis Bacon, Robert Rauschenberg, Redon, Monet, Dine, Pollock,
Goya and the list is endless. Their art laid the groundwork for what was
to become the impetus for my own art. I sold cars, advertising and
unbeknown to me, t-shirt designs to a big time pirate company making
everything from NFL knock offs to A-Team gear. After they got busted in
a big three state raid, I decided to go into the Army as an illustrator,
but after being wooed by the Green Beret video ended up in the Infantry.
I was good at being a soldier and I loved the job. I'm sure it had
something to do with my violent emergence into this world. Art called to
me, however, and after 4yrs as an Infantry sergeant and a brief stint as
a reserve drill sergeant, I got out. By this time I had a growing family
and after a failed attempt to juggle going back to school, along with
bills to pay and Army Reserve duty, I decided to make art pay off for
me. I did a tattoo apprenticeship in record time and started tattooing
full time to pay the bills. Luckily, I didn't screw too many people up
and have actually developed a pretty good career that has spanned almost
two decades, at this point. I’m married to an amazing woman who happens
to be a research psychologist (match made in Heaven, right?) and between
us we have 5 kick ass kids and a cat.
I was able to start tattooing part time in 2006, in order to devote more
time to my first passion, painting. I paint dark stuff. Mostly centering
on social commentary. On that part of man that crops up all too often in
our daily lives. That hidden part that we try to gloss over with our
lattes, I-phones, flat screens, eco-friendly vehicles (is there such a
thing, really?), and all those things that make us look like normal
citizens on the outside. I’m interested in that twisted little part of
our souls that we all have, yet try to deny. You know… the one that
tells you to shove the check that lady is writing for that pack of gum
so far down her throat that you endorse her spleen. The one that creates
the Hitler’s, Pol Pot’s, Gein’s, Shawcross’s, Koresh’s, and so on. It’s
the flaw of man that caused the holocaust, the inquisition, the
crusades, world wars, genocides and countless other unimaginable acts of
depravity and brutality. That's my gift; to look past the friendly
veneer and see the stripped down demon, seething with anger, lust,
hatred and all of the other sins that dwell in the dark matter of our
hearts. And through it all, I try to inject a little humor, because,
after all, we are one funny ass species.
"Art is Power...so is a well placed bullet to the back of the skull." |
: TATTOO AWARDS:
AM - JAM 2006
Best Tribal Male
1st Place
Best Collection Blackwork Female
AM - JAM 2005
Best Cover-up
1st Place
AM - JAM 2004
Best Collection Blackwork Female
CNY Skin Art Ball
2003
Best Portrait
AM - JAM 1995
Best Overall Female
Tattoo's Artistry
in Ink 1995
Black & Grey
1st Place
Cover-up
3rd Place
Meeting of the
Marked 1994
Black & Grey Flash Sheet
1st Place
: ART EXHIBITS :
The Guerilla Art
Show
Aug - Sep 2006
Altered Esthetics
Minneapolis, MN
The Dirty Show
Detroit, MI
Sept 2006
Dia de los Meurtos
Oct - Nov 2006
AKA Gallery
Oklahoma City, OK
A Carnivorous
Delight
Oct 2006
Gallery Noir
Los Angeles, CA
The Art of Horror
Oct - Nov 2006
Altered Esthetics
Minneapolis, MN
International Art
Money
Permanent
Fredericksberg, Denmark
The Sugar Coated
Show
Oct - Nov 2006
The Pop Shop
Lakewood, OH
The Last Big Thing
Dec 2006
Baltimore, MD
The Board Show
(The Space Gallery)
Jan 2007
San Francisco, CA
Resident Artist's
Show
Jan 2007
Altered Esthetics
Minneapolis, MN
CPopportunity!
Mar - Apr 2007
CPOP Gallery
Detroit, MI
Dirty Little
Secrets
Oct 2007
Altered Esthetics
Minneapolis, MN
Forbidden art –
finance of expression
Sep 2007
Copenhagen, Denmark
The Last Gasp -
Washington School of
Photography
Nov 2007
Bethesda, MD
Art Awake - Studio
55
Apr 2008
Rochester, NY
6 x 6 x 2008
Rochester Contemporary Art Center
Jun 2008
Rochester, NY
Freedom & Resident
Artists IV
Altered Esthetics
Jul 2008
Minneapolis, MN
Monster Mash Up
Club Pearl
Oct 2008
Rochester, NY
Art Awake
Pixley Warehouse
Apr 2009
Rochester, NY
6 x 6 x 2009
Rochester Contemporary Art Center
Jun 2009
Rochester, NY
Superheroes /
Supervillians
Look At This Gallery
Oct 2009
Chang Mai, Thailand |
