About Me

I completed the Graphic Commercial Art & Design Program with Jack Spitler and Lisa Hetzer. This taught me my beginning skills in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.

Now the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program, I left my hometown of Vandalia, Ohio and flew from Dayton to Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

From the Gazette (2013) :

"The program, which is in its 27th year, is the only free program of its kind in the country, said Joyce Robinson, president of the foundation. Students only pay for transportation to and from the Springs. Each year, out of an undisclosed number of applicants, 60 students are chosen - usually 20 per session. It's open to anybody who will have finished their junior year in high school by the time the seminar begins. They come from all over the country, including Colorado Springs, and occasionally from outside the country."

This was one of the most amazing experiences in my art career, painting in Pike National Forest, still life painting in Crestone and working daily with talented full-time artists. This helped me discover that I could be an artist, and follow in any direction  I chose. 

Tattooing became prominent in my life when I started my apprenticeship at 16 years old under Robb Lee's mentorship in Vandalia, Ohio at Studio B-52 Tattoo. I was very dedicated to this path and spent every hour of free time in the shop. By the age of 19, I relocated to Cookeville, TN to work at Roustabout Tattoo. After 2 years here, I was ready for a change and opened my first appointment only tattoo studio, and have been successfully fulfilling this career path since 2017. 

Graphic Design has always been in the forefront of my line of work, including that of my family and friends with businesses. Over the course of my life, I have designed many websites, logos, business cards, brochures, pamphlets, billboards and more. This aspect is a personal favorite of mine, because I love to find a way for art to communicate an idea or a project. Business and communication goes hand in hand with graphic design.

Programs such as Procreate, Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign are what I use to create artwork for myself, my tattoo clientele, and my freelance customers.

Watercolor being a personal favorite, is a quick way for me to have an artistic escape. My passion for fine art formed when using acrylics at the Marie Walsh Sharpe Summer Seminar, and graphite black and grey drawings at a younger age of twelve. The cover photo of my website is a self portrait that I did in my first month of junior year in high school. I chose to bypass art college due to my interest in the tattooing community, but continue to engage in multiple forms of art creation.