Jarrod recently asked me some questions about my art.
1. Most of your art is based on fantasy motifs. Why?
I love fantasy art, to me its my own little world in which to delve and dream and share with others.
2. Your characters are often female. Any particular reason for that?
To be honest when I first discovered 3D art and the models that came out with programs like poser, I just didn't' care for the way the male figures appeared. Although their features have changed over the years and are far better looking then the original poser male, I just kind of stayed with the characters that I am more comfortable with and know that when it comes to post work I can enhance and create the image that lives in my mind.
3. What would you like to see happen with your artwork?
There are several things that I would like to see happen, I have several projects that I have completed that I can see on cd covers or book covers. I have made several images just to have for bookmarks. What I really want to happen with my art is improvement, I can accomplish what I put my mind to, my challenge is accomplishing what I haven't thought of.
4. Where do you see yourself five years from now? Ten?
Five years from now I hope to be much more accomplished in 3D modeling. Something I have just started delving with and am excited to learn the unlimited possibilities with 3D modeling. Ten years from now I see myself doing 3D art for the entertainment industry, gaming and movies.
5. What is the biggest inspiration for your work? Why?
Boris Vallejo, MC Escher and Leonardo Da Vinci. Boris is the first artist I can remember seeing work that was beautiful fantasy. MC Escher images you can look at and always find something you didn't see before. I love the way he can take something and transform it into something completely different or the optical illusions he creates in his images. Leonardo Da Vinci because in my eyes he was the first artist to look into the future and see the possibilities of what could be. But also because I find his images captivating, you can see the flow of materials and see the movement of the characters within his pieces.
6. Do you have any formal training, if so, what is it?
I drew much of my training from studying the Masters and augmented my computer training with daily hand artwork. I took a lot of art classes while in high school but never really got the opportunity while I was in college to take the kind of classes I was interested in when it comes to art. All of the digital art programs that I currently use are self taught such as Adobe Photoshop, Poser, 3DS Max, Bryce, Daz Studio, MS Word, Dreamweaver and Adobe Illustrator.
7. You started doing artwork as a business in 1979, why then?
I graduated high school in 1979, and sold my first piece of art later that year.
8. Most of your work these days looks digital, do you still create art using more "traditional" methods?
I do sketches, in fact most of what I do on the computer is first sketched out, although the two often look vastly different by the time each are completed. I also do other traditional art such as ceramics. I like getting my hands wet and creating a piece from scratch.