In a Nutshell
My expertise is communicating your product’s message to the target audience. Whether it’s a movie poster design, logo or branding strategy, or an illustration – that is my end-all goal. I’ve had the distinction of being able to work with clients from a wide variety of industries – so I have a unique skill set in my portfolio. What you won’t see in my portfolio is my agency work with Walker Design Group – which requires a different eye for design, as we deal with much more traditional clients. My entire design portfolio is wide-ranging and covers a lot of ground. I hope you’ll spend a few minutes and check it out.
My Art and My Profession
My entire life, I’ve been an artist – and I knew that was what I was going to be early on. Thankfully, my mom kept all my old drawings.
I’ve been working in the field of graphic design since 1996, where I was a prepress technician for Insty-Prints (now Allegra Printing). In 1999, I took a design position at Walker Design Group. In the early 2000s, I was tapped by Great Falls College – MSU to instruct Advanced and Creative Photoshop outreach classes. After a few years of teaching, in 2002, I decided to take a break and focus on my digital illustration, which was garnering attention and clients in the entertainment industry.
My client base through my own endeavors, as well as working within Walker Design Group has spanned from financial institutions, healthcare, higher education, some of Montana’s biggest non-profit sporting events, small-budget films, entertainment personalities and media organizations. This is the part I enjoy about my work the best: the diversity. I feel that it rounds me out as a designer, being able to work on a certain type of client work at night, but also being able to be challenged with completely different client needs during the day. My portfolio seems very wide when I look at it, but it’s even wider when I consider the work I’ve done for Walker Design Group over the years – and how diverse my design sensibilities have had to become due to the nature of both jobs.
Since the late 90′s, my work has been featured in collaborative art shows in American galleries such as C-Pop in Detroit and Los Angeles and in conjunction with Les Barany’s Carnivora Exhibit, Echo in Chicago, IL, Galerie Luna in Salem, MA, Dark Secrets in Philadelphia, PA and as one of the Guest Artists at The Dirty Show Erotic Art Exhibit in Detroit in 2008. I have two pieces in permanent collections at the Centre Jean D’Arc in Orleans, France and the Brothers Grimm museum in Germany. My work has won a variety of illustration awards in several genres, and been featured on Bram Stoker award-winning book covers and interiors.
In 2008 I moved to New York City, doing freelance design projects and illustration, supplying services to clients in the entertainment industry. It was a great opportunity to expand my portfolio, but ultimately I came back to Montana to continue work with Walker Design Group.
After taking a hiatus from teaching, in 2010, I was asked to be an instructor at Great Falls College – MSU in their Graphic Design program. I currently teach Typography, but have also instructed classes on graphic design principals and new web technologies. It’s important for me to work in the field while teaching graphic design, so I am fortunate enough to do both.
Art Exhibits
The Dirty Show, February 2009 – Detroit, Michigan
The Halloween Show, October 2008 – Chicago, Illinois
1901 Gallery, May 2008 – Chicago, Illinois
La Imagerie, May 2008 – Hollywood, California
The Dirty Show, February 2008 – Detroit, Michigan
CPop, February 2008 – Detroit, Michigan
SpookyArt Charity Auction July 2006 – Chicago, Illinois
DS Gallery, January 2005 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Galerie Luna, October/November 2004 – Salem, Massachusetts
Convergence X, 2004 – Chicago, Illinois
Echo Gallery, March 2003 – Chicago, Illinois
Renaissance 2K travelling exhibition
Permanent Displays
‘Red Riding Hood’ – Brothers Grimm Museum, Kassel, Germany
‘Militaire De Dieu’ – Centre Jean D’Arc in Orleans, France
