Q: Your work is incredibly evocative, and does an incredible job of demanding viewers to stop, reflect and engage. What do you personally hope your audience takes away from the experience?

A: Ultimately, I hope what they take away is a painting. But I do really appreciate when people take the time to stop and take a deeper look. Even if they have a bad opinion of it, you know if they stop to take a look it was at least of interest, especially at large art fairs and conventions.

Q: There’s a unique blend of dark humour and surrealism in your work. How do you balance these elements while maintaining emotional depth?

A: Most of what I draw just starts out with characters I think are funny. As I sit with them and think, I realise the deeper psychological narratives they actually have, and I build around that. For example, I started drawing these little cherub shark combo creatures coming out of TVs and realised they had to do with my issues with screen time. I hate the social media aspect of life and most likely wouldn't engage with it if I didn’t need to deal with promoting my art.

Q: You’ve had quite a journey, transitioning from tattoo artistry to oil painting. Can you share what sparked this transition and how your past experiences influence your art today?

A: Tattooing is a great industry that gave me stable foundation both financially and mentally to transition to my career in fine art. I did truly love it for many years but initially painting and drawing is what it was all about and I knew I would return to it one day. 17 years of tattooing was enough. I was getting back into painting again and having trouble juggling the schedule of both. The owner of the shop I had been at for 10 years was not happy with me taking time off to paint for shows so I had to make a decision. The years of tattooing had a great influence on teaching me discipline and patience. Although it makes me want to start my paintings looser than ever I still look to bring them to a relatively tight finished product.

Q: You’re based in Southern California, a region known for its natural beauty. How has the landscape and culture around you influenced the subjects and tone of your paintings?

A: Inspiration is everywhere here. I stepped out my front door the other day and was staring through palm trees 100 miles to snow capped mountains. Unreal cloud formations and sunsets over the ocean. Anywhere I travel, I'm always taking a ton of pictures of anything I might find inspirational.

Q: Artists are notorious for being too hard on themselves, especially when switching fields. What advice would you give to young artists or individuals transitioning between different forms of expression?

A: Start at the bottom. Build your community from the ground up. Make your friends there and grow through the ranks together. When your work is good enough and you consistently show motivation to get better you will start finding new opportunities.