About Me

“How long have you been drawing?” I get asked

I usually respond with, “How long have I been breathing?”

From as early as I can remember, I always had a picture brewing in my head that needed to get out onto paper. I would spend hours drawing superheroes, dragons, Lord of the Rings-esque warriors and wizards, pretty dramatic stuff!  That need to create stuck with me all throughout my child and teenage years.

AND… I loved to write. In elementary school, I wrote/illustrated several books for our county’s Young Author’s Fair – winning a couple blue ribbons and gold stickers, if I remember correctly. My personal favorite? The Kitchen Fighter. Yes, the story a little 3-inch tall dude you don’t know about who lives in your kitchen cupboards, who… along with the help of Bobby Apple, his banana soldiers armed with toothpick spears, and his flying toaster that shoots lethal “TOAST” missles… was able to defeat the dreaded molasses monster blob thingy who was intent on devouring the entire kitchen. Yea, you got all that?

In high school, my drawing skills increased and I began dreaming of becoming an animator for Walt Disney (“Beauty and the Beast” came out my senior year).  At the same time, as my faith increased, I tried my hand at drawing a few religious images, mainly depictions of Jesus. People, faces and expressions became my favorite things to draw.

I went to Brigham Young University, served a mission in the Philippines for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and then finished my bachelor’s degree in Illustration in 1999. However, instead of going full-throttle into an art
career, I felt I needed to pursue my other passion -- GOSPEL TEACHING. I became a full-time seminary (a religion classes for LDS high school age youth) teacher for several years and loved it!  But in the back of my mind, I was wondering how I could combine my love for art -AND- my love for teaching gospel truths to young people… and do something unique to me. The ideas started brewing.

In 2005, I left seminary teaching and began creating fine art depictions of the Savior –AND- scripture books for children. In both these fields, I tried to find a niche, something that had not been done before.

In my “Expressions of Christ” series, my goal was to create genuine, approachable depictions of Jesus with a variety of expressions (not just one stoic “look” all the time). I wanted simple drawings that would hopefully convey a feeling that folks could relate to when they thought of how THEY felt towards their Savior. At the time, it hadn’t been done much in the Christian art world. (click here)

And, as far as children’s books, I wanted to do more than just tell a scripture story.  I wanted to help kids APPLY the scripture stories to their world... so they could see how THEY could be like these ancient heroes (in modern, practical, KID ways). It hadn't been done before.  So, I created the "Who’s Your Hero" series and several other books after that. (click here)  and that became my niche.

In 2019, I got the idea of taking my "Who’s Your Hero" books to the next level, and creating VIDEOS where kids could watch me draw WHILE I tell the scripture stories and talk about the applications… to help families with “Come Follow Me” study at home. I felt there was a definite need for something like this. So, knowing nothing about video production, I started exploring options and by January 1, 2020 - The first “DRAWN IN” episodes were released. And within a few months –
BOOM! COVID hit! I was so grateful that these videos were in place to help families during that unique “Home Church” time. I’m a firm believer that God prompts us with ideas at certain times to help further His work.

Today, these DRAWN IN videos have gone waaaaay beyond my original vision for them! (can we say – “Israelite Rocker Hands?”) Check out samples here. My goal has always been to find that balance of silly, fun, humor… and spiritual, reverent sharing… and everything in between! I love making these videos, especially when I hear feedback of how they help make CFM time at home something the kids WANT to do, and how they're really applying the principles in these videos to themselves.  Learn more about it here.

So, what’s the point of sharing all this? We ALL have a God given instinct to CREATE. I believe we inherited that trait FROM our Heavenly Father. So… GO CREATE! Find something you love that is unique to you! It can be anything! Pray
and ask God for ideas… and then follow those ideas wherever the Lord may take you! And be sure to enjoy the process along the way. That’s how He works.

And... The MOST important part…

MY FAMILY! 

I have been married to my beautiful wife, Natalie, since 2001. She is amazing and has been a faithful support through all these career tweeks over the years. We have five wonderful kids (aged 19-9) and love being their parents (for the most part, haha) We are active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and love living in the thriving metropolis of Snowflake, Arizona! Woo hoo! We love the outdoors (Hiking, camping, etc) and being
involved in our community. Come visit me sometime at my gallery!