For as long as i can remember I've had this insatiable desire to experience as much as I can in the short time I have here on this spinning orb. I don't believe in heaven or reincarnation so my mantra has always been something like, "you have one life to live, so live it, don't just talk about it!" It's also probably why I waited so long before I took my art seriously. I have little doubt that on some subconscious level I felt like I had to experience as many interesting things as I could before I could create art that was interesting.

My life before becoming a father was all about lifestyle and I took full advantage of it. In 2001 my girlfriend and I took a trip that would change our lives for the next ten years. We went backpacking through Europe for five glorious weeks. Upon our return home we realized we had been bitten by the travel bug. We wanted more! In 2003 we spent two months traveling through S.E. Asia, we went to; Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia! It was absolutely unbelievable and I loved every second of it! That trip inspired our next. In 2005 my girlfriend and I quit our jobs, sold our possessions and traveled abroad for thirteen months straight. We took this trip because we were in a unique time in our lives were we didn't have a mortgage payment, kids or a career to hold us back. We began our trip back in Thailand. From there went to China and studied Mandarin and Kung Fu for a month on a ancient wall surrounded the beautiful city of Dali. We loved China and ended up spending four months there. When China became too cold for us we hoped on a plane for India. Over a three month period we traveled from the southern tip of India (Trivandrum) all the way up the west coast, across to Varanasi and onward into the semi-autonomous state of Sikkim in the Himalayas to do some trekking for a couple of weeks. New Zealand was next, we got jobs in a winery learning the wine making process, we went bungee jumping, paragliding, hiking, kayaking and skydiving. And finally we spent two beautiful and relaxing month is Australian with friends. I learned so much on that trip: I learned I love culture, history, ethnic food, diversity, compassion, and understanding. I realized I wanted to spend the rest of my life with my girlfriend. It's been 18 years and we are still together. The trip was so inspirational that I came to realize I was an artist and was denying myself the potential of making a career out of my creative talents. A few years after returning home I began my career as a full-time artist and I'm happy to report I'm going into my sixth year and only getting busier and busier. I also learned on that trip I wanted to become a father and I now have two beautiful boys.

I lost a friend two days ago (Jan 2018) to suicide. I don't want to get into the whole reason or psychology behind why people do it or why they become so incredibly sad and hopeless. But I can't help but think about everything they will miss out on, all those experience they will never have which, if they did, could reshape their lives in unforeseeable ways and propelled them into new and exciting direction. Life can get overwhelming at time, and not to trivialize it, but it's like the weather or the economy, it's cyclical, so let's not forget how beautiful and exciting the world can be if you take full advantage of all it has to offer.