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About Me
I've been interested in both art and animals for as long as I can remember. I grew up in rural West Virginia and
always had animals around me. Some of the animals we owned were cats, dogs, cows, ducks, and rabbits. We were
always surrounded by domesticated animals like cattle, sheep and donkeys as well as wildlife such as deer, turkey,
raccoons, coyote, possum, owls and all kind of other critters. When I was young I loved coloring pictures of
animals, but when I was in middle school I made a pencil drawing of a rhino, and I think that's when I really
thought about being a professional artist. The look on that rhino's face was so emotional, I just wanted to
recreate that beauty in my own style. As I moved into high school, I delved even more into artwork and still loved
animals as my subject matter. I graduated Salutatorian in 1999.
I went to college at Virginia Tech and graduated with honors in 2004. I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in
Graphic Design. While at Tech, I continued to study artwork and animals. I was able to greatly expand my knowledge
and experience in the arts and took classes in painting, sculpture, ceramics, graphic design and art history. I
also began exploring other subject matter as well including still life, the human figure and conceptual works.
Once I graduated, I was hired as an Art Director for the Roanoke, VA plant of a national billboard advertising
agency. I have been working there for over 5 years now and I design billboards, check artwork that is sent to us
from outside agencies, and order products to print among other things. I also do freelance design and fine art on
the side. A couple years ago I started volunteering at our local zoo and enjoyed it so much that I began doing
volunteer work for other organizations as well. I became an Artist in Conservation for the Snow Leopard Trust,
designed some logos for them, and even started a chapter of the Trust here in my town. Due to my involvement in
these various organizations, my artwork has been even more inspired by animals.
So you'll see mostly wildlife art in my gallery. However, I am at an age where most of my friends are getting
married and starting families, so I find myself creating baby portraits as well lately.
Some random quick facts about me in no particular order:
- I have always wanted to visit Alaska.
- I LOVE animals, volunteering, cheese, and rock music.
- I love my boyfriend, Neil, and we hope to get married someday and buy a house in a rural area, but no kids. We'll
stick to animals.
- I like hiking, although sometimes my body doesn't.
- I will turn (dum dum daaaaaaaaaaaa) 30 in 2010!
- I love the beauty of the state WV, where I grew up. There is no place in the world like it.
- I love to read, but TV is my guilty pleasure.
- I am totally and utterly petrified of caterpillars. (I was stung by one when I was little - yes, some of them sting!)
- I am a very picky vegetable eater. I love salads though. Mostly I like them with a large pile of lettuce, shredded
carrots, mound of cheese, croutons and Italian dressing. Chicken Caesars are good too. Yeah, I know all the unhealthy
stuff pretty much voids out the healthy stuff at that point, but they taste good.
- I love pepperoni rolls.
- I have never had a haircut yet, so my hair touches the floor when it's down. How much longer that will last is
anyone's guess. I mostly wear it up in a bun.
- I don't wear dresses or skirts and rarely wear makeup. I don't like the way makeup feels on your face, and sometimes
it smells funny.
- I have a brother who is sort of a genius.
- I constantly feel busy.
- I am a Christian.
- I want to do good things and I long to change the world.
- I like to cook and bake, but I hate washing dishes.
- I would love to have a dishwasher.
- I love working with and creating things with my hands.
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