Unique Background?

My believe is that I may come from a somewhat unique and diverse upbringing. My childhood began on the often picturesque yet rugged landscape of a New Mexico cattle ranch contrast with the intellectual and artistic stimulation of the culturally rich city of Paris France, where one day I may be moving cattle across the planes on horseback yet on another I may be walking through the extraordinary halls of the Louvre inspired by the works of Fouquet and Caravaggio.

Parisian Cowboy

Born on a New Mexico ranch, I was raised with a strong work ethic vital for survival on that ranch. My Parisian mother, a United Nations interpreter and scholar as well as talented artist and musician, broadened my horizons by exposing me to diverse cultures. This unique upbringing fostered a deep appreciation for music, art, and travel. Moving to Southern California further ignited my passion for outdoor pursuits, leading me to embrace skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, and Martial Arts.

Punk Rock Kid

Like many of us music is one of my passions, I was very fortunate to have family members who played a variety of instruments that inspired me to learn to play the guitar, drums, bass, a little piano as well as song writing and later digital music composition and production. I was a bit rebellious from a young age and in elementary school I stared my first punk rock band. At age fourteen my band started playing night clubs in Southern California, at age sixteen my band signed to a small record label, we did a small west coast tour which was a amazing and crazy experience, we were lucky enough to play with a lot of cool bands like Samiam, Youth Brigade, UK Subs, but the most well know is probably the pop punk band Blink-182. I got into graphic design when designing flyers for our punk shows. In school art was always my favorite subject, as someone who really struggled with dyslexia, art was my refuge and the one thing that made me feel a sense of worth. As the Art Teachers Assistant in high school learned a great deal about styles and mediums and this was a in enlightening and integral experience for me. I studied Painting, Drawing, Typography, Photography, Publishing, and Graphic Design at my university but I truly believe I learned the most form other designers who I would barter with for lessons in the design department of my job working at an offset printing company. In a few years I made my way up from warehouse worker to running a small two color press then large 4-8 color printing presses then getting my own office as a Graphic Designer in the design department designing promotional materials for Hollywood clubs and music festivals. Next I obtained a position as Ad Coordinator at World Industries, the world's largest skateboard company at the time which came with a great deal of perks like fun events and parties with great music acts.

Agency life

As my design career flourished it took me from cool boutique Los Angeles agencies to the world's largest advertising agencies. It has been exciting being involved with creating campaigns for industry giants like Apple, General Electric, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, MTV, NBC, CBS, and Universal Studios. My work has spanned from leading audio brands like Pioneer and Bose, technological innovators like Sun Microsystems and Western Digital, and automotive giants like BMW, Lexus, and Toyota. Notably, I was part of team who created an award-winning website for Kia.

Throughout my career, I've collaborated with renowned agencies like Deutsch Advertising, Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, Team One, and iCrossing. Additionally, I've championed social causes, making self-defense more accessible through my work with the largest martial arts franchise in the US. My own entrepreneurial journey involved creating a successful startup that helped cancer patients manage pain, growing from two employees to seventeen and achieving profitability within two years before its acquisition. But one of the most rewarding parts of my career was working with actor Ed Norton at crowdrise.com later merged with GoFundMe.com where we worked on philanthropic campaigns from water filtration in Africa to animal and environmental conservation.

A Focus on the Future

I moved to Paris France to take care of my grandmother who lived to 99 years old. Taking care of her until her passing was a humbling but invaluable experience. She had always supported my artistic pursuits when doing so is not always easy for me, Some may choose to be artists but for me I felt like I had no other choice, maybe I was delusional, maybe not, but I'm proud of my accomplishments and I'm looking to the future. A member of Les Maison Des Artistes in France, I'm currently creating large-scale abstract paintings for an upcoming exhibition, composing songs with my band Late Society Development and looking for new design opportunities as I try to to rebuild my network in a new country and in the new reality we live in today. Ideally I would like to apply my skills to projects that work toward a better future for everyone. When I was in China learning Kung Fu with the Monks at the Shaolin Temple I learned about and connected with the idea of compassion and empathy for all and my dream is that everyone can work toward these ideals. If you read this far I really appreciate you taking the time to read my story. It's just a small peak of the many adventures and experiences I have gone through that I bring to my art. Take care.