I graduated from BYU-Idaho with a BFA in April 2015.  From my time there I gained a deep appreciation of realism in art and discovered a passion for landscape painting.  I experimented with Plein Air painting and found that the more time I spent outdoors, the more I wanted landscape to be a part of my life. I made a decision to devote my career to the study of nature through painting.

 The faculty at BYU-Idaho gave me the traditional foundation I needed as a starting point for my passion. One teacher who was particularly influential was Albin Veselka who taught part-time and is an accomplished full-time painter. With his down-to-earth teaching style and vast knowledge of the arts, Albin gave me the knowledge and feedback my work needed, while allowing me to question and explore the many facets of painting. Albin’s teachings have been invaluable to me and continue to influence me as an artist.

 Spending time out in nature is a necessity for me, both as an artist and as a human being. I think John Muir said it best when writing about the Sierra Nevada Mountain passes, “They will kill care, save you from deadly apathy, set you free, and call forth every faculty into vigorous, enthusiastic action. Even the sick should try these so-called dangerous passes, because for every unfortunate they kill, they cure a thousand.” Going forward in my career as an artist, I want my work to capture nature and its idiosyncrasies. I hope that by doing so I can remind people about the real world that surrounds them.