In 2022 I had the honor of creating a portrait drawing for a dear family friend. Most of my work, including portraiture work, revolves around mental health, cognitive disorders, and loss. This portrait, however I may wish it to be outside of the scope of my work, was created in remembrance of the loss of our dear friend James Ennis.  This portrait took time to finish, nearly a year of slow progress from 2021-2022, using Lyra oil-based color pencils. The measurements are 18x24, with a one-inch matte border. James and Lisa both worked at Disney World for a long time and I made sure to add the Magic Kingdom castle in the clouds, encapsulating their years of marriage.  Below I share their story, as written by one of Lisa's dearest friends.  "I can vividly remember the first time Lisa and I laid eyes on James Ennis!   We were at the Snack Shack.  I don’t remember her words exactly but I would bet it included “hunka hunka burnin’ love”, or “yeah baby!” ...

Growing up as a young artist I focused on what was cool to draw, or at least what my peers told me was cool. I drew skulls and haphazard portrait sketches, I drew popular cartoon characters and comic book characters, and I drew a slew of no-thought tattoo designs. I did this for many years, from middle school to my adult life. I was drawing without purpose, without content, context, or connection. I was also struggling to connect socially. Throughout my life, I have struggled with mental illness. I found myself disconnected from friends, confining myself to my room in the low swings, and working non-stop on random ideas in the high swings. I struggled with focusing on things that mattered and hyperfocused on the things that seemed important or exciting in my mind. I would find out till I was 22 that I had a diagnosis involving mental health of Bipolar Disorder and ASD. I mention these things because my history has transformed my focus on art. I really started to focus on studying art h...

  As an artist and graphic designer, I have had the privilege of exploring two distinct but complementary fields. Fine arts and graphic design may seem like separate disciplines, but in reality, they share many commonalities that make them work well together. In this blog, I will delve into my experience as an artist and graphic designer and how these two skill sets have helped each other. Firstly, it is important to understand the fundamental differences between fine arts and graphic design. Fine arts are primarily focused on self-expression and creativity. Fine artists use their skills to create works that convey a message, evoke emotions, and express their ideas. On the other hand, graphic design is more focused on creating visual communication that conveys a specific message or information to a specific audience. Graphic designers use design principles and techniques to create logos, brochures, posters, and other types of marketing and promotional materials. Now, let's look at ...