Art and the act of expression has been an integral part of my life since my first remembrances.
My father, an amateur painter during my formative years was a rich inspiration to my evolving perceptions and creativity. This was during the 1970’s the golden age of Science Fiction cinema and my imagination was totally captivated by the popular imagery of the times. As I matured I seemed to gravitate towards the obscure and avant-garde. Fringe topics and subcultures in art and music are where my interests and visual perceptions were forged. This foundation has given me a clear and confident vision of the concepts and artistic expressions I am trying to explore and achieve.
Working with scrap metal was a natural progression in a long list of mediums I’ve worked with over the years. I studied painting and design in the early 1990’s under Linda Ridgeway Taylor at Cedar Valley College. My aspirations of making it as a successful visual artist were soon sidetracked by my involvement as a musician in the local Dallas underground music scene. During the next decade I would gradually come back to creating visual art first through painting and finally sculpture. I created a series of elaborate post apocalyptic sculptures/stage props that accompanied the live performances of my Industrial-Metal band.
During this period my day job was in the commercial construction industry. It was here where I obtained vast knowledge of tools and fabrication techniques. It was only a matter of time before I put this knowledge to good use in the form of welding metal for aesthetic purposes.
My inspiration comes from a wide range of things. I am still involved in music, these days it is in the form of bleak, ambient, electronic soundscapes. These sounds help me to explore the inner worlds of my imagination. These visions usually consist of nihilistic, mechanized imagery with sharp points, twisting curves and an ominous foreboding sense of dread. My interests in urban decay, tribal mysticism, secret societies of antiquity and the horror / sci-fi movie genres are all subjects from which I draw inspiration.
There is a certain primal feeling that I get working with fire and metal that is unlike anything I have ever experienced while creating art. This to me is very satisfying, a catharsis in which extreme heat, sweat and physical exertion pour into the work at hand. An altered state of consciousness can sometimes be achieved when things seem to be flowing perfectly it’s as if the artwork takes on a life of it’s own..
