If security is an impossibility and happiness can’t come from money directly where does the motivation and passion for life that drives us come from and how can we support and harness it? When it finally hit a spilling point, I was sitting at my 6-figure job one day in Santa Monica and had had enough. I got up, and walked out the door determined to take my destiny into my own hands. I didn’t understand why at the time, but I drove to one of my favorite beach spots and sat in contemplation for a while. It was during this meditation that I received the phone call that would change my life: it was the tattooer who had taught all the best tattooers in town and he was willing to meet me to talk about an apprenticeship. I started with him that day, and my life was never the same.

Since then I have been homeless, travelled thousands of miles over years, built studios to work in, met countless new friends and now understand the world in an entirely new way. Some of the time since I left my last job to become a tattooer and artist I have felt insecure about my decision. It is that very insecurity that has pushed me to become the artist that I am today. Every painting and tattoo is a challenge to overcome the doubt and questioning I have about whether I am doing a good job and contributing to a better world. I do not believe that I could make art without feeling insecure. So I don’t fight it, and instead I embrace the uncertainty and accept the challenge to do something I have never done.

Now I live in a new city, having picked up and moved my entire life and business to a new place is full of challenges. I love Tempe for a lot of reasons and I feel like my art has the ability to flourish here. But I’m basically back to square one: meeting new clients and making new friends. It is uncomfortable at times but the insecurity of it all makes for some great creative motivation. I share this with you because I know there are a lot of people who want to take the leap into the unknown to follow their dreams. You have nothing to lose. No amount of money or control over the minute details of daily life will every make the insecurity go away so embrace the feeling and let it push you to become the best version of yourself.

This video is short look into the past year of my life. These are the people and places who contributed to who I am today. I felt it was time to open up the archives and share something personal. I cannot express my gratitude for everyone who has been a part of my life and those of you I have yet to meet. Life is an awe inspiring journey filled with ups and downs but the friends we make along the way are the substance that makes it worth living.

Every mark you make, impression you leave and memory you create is a token on the path from which you’ve come. Photos, videos, written commitments published as ritual affirmations stored forever to record our existence. The trails we take and the choices we make are the foundations for future growth opportunities and the cycle continues endlessly.

I always tell people “Smile at your future self” when they don’t want to take pictures. Best genuine smile you can ever hope to get.

June gloom is a month late this year. July has been cloudy and much cooler then usual. A few days ago we went down to Leo Careo for sunset but the beach was fogged in. Luckily so, I was able to get some great long-exposures of the waves crashing through the arches and rocks.

Get Real: Animal Style – Editing

I am hard at work on Mike DeVries’ Get Real: Animal Style video editing, and have essentially been secluded to the studio for the last two weeks. I usually learn the most about tattooing from the process and interactions I have while tattooing. As a result of editing over 25 hours of video into a digestible educational DVD that doesn’t get boring after the first 3 hours, I have the opportunity to absorb the mind of a master. The detail, quality and focus involved in Mike’s tattooing is amazing, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with him on this project. We are now looking for fast-paced rock music submissions to be used in the background during the tattoo in a sort of skate-surf-video-esque style.

I just handed off my collection of Private Selection (my old band) video tapes spanning from 1999-2005 and with any luck I’ll have them back on DVD to edit in the near future. I know there are still a few of you out there who would love to get your hands on a copy. That day just got a little closer.

Niko

About two weeks ago I became the proud owner of a new dog named Niko. He is a 3 month old Hawaiian blue nose pitbull. A friend’s dog recently had a litter of puppies and I was able to get the best little guy in the group. He will be a very welcome addition to the family and will surely be loved by my friends and clients.

Prints for sale

I have a few different art prints for sale. They are all hand made and quite inexpensive ($5-$15). A lot of my friends don’t have much of anything hanging on their walls let alone a one of a kind piece of art, so I have created a number of different prints using linocut printing blocks. I cut each design by hand into a block, roll paint onto it, and then stamp it on to acid-free archival paper. For the newest print, I am also adding water color paint to each one. They will be for sale for the first time at the Collective show at the Dragonfly in West Hollywood on March 22, 2010 and then online after that.

Big Beautiful Pictures

After launching Big Beautiful Pictures and uploading a few galleries of my landscape photography portfolio, I am almost finished with the shopping cart. In the mean time I will now have 8×10″ prints available at my studio with larger prints available for custom order.

Last week we had beautiful spring-like weather here in southern California and I spent the better portion of the week out hiking the local mountains. First was a trip up Sandstone Peak to take a spherical panorama picture. Next we spent two consecutive days at Wildwood Park at sun down and into the evening. Then we finished it off with a trip Saturday to the waterfalls at the end of the Winding Way trail in Malibu. See the view from Lizard Rock in Wildwood Park at sunset in 360º panorama.

My new photography website, BigBeautifulPictures.com is almost finished, and I am finally adding new galleries to the site as I create them. I am working to add only the very best of my existing landscape pictures, but more so to add new photos to the site as they are created

This year has brought the most significant growth to my art and my life then ever before. The most significant of which was building and working night and day in my first art studio, enabling me to share my passions and talents with countless people. Included were over 500 hours tattooing, 10,000 photos, and a handful of paintings.

I would like to focus mainly on my artistic development, however it stands to be noted that my personal growth over the last year has surpassed my artistic improvements by leaps and bounds. I see these as being interdependent of each other though as the emotional and physical stresses have been eliminated, my freedom of expression has benefited conversely. Living behind an array of half-truths, manipulations, and fear created an atmosphere of anxiety that I have freed myself from with nothing more honesty and respect.

Now it’s a new year and new beginnings. Picking up the pieces of a handful of art projects that I’ve imagined and started but somehow were forgotten. In the next few weeks I will be launching my online store. I’m working on new pieces to include as I write this, but already slated for sale are over 10 original drawings and paintings framed, a limited edition linocut print, photography prints, and a few special hand-made items.

This is my second year, unemployed by “the man” and surviving on nothing more than your direct support of my art. I can not thank you enough for making this dream a reality and helping me spread the passion and energy that goes into creating art nonstop. So, tell your friends, become a fan on facebook, save up your hard-earned money to buy some art, and make every single day a work of creation.