Art Bio/CV

Born (1980) in West Virginia and living in California since 1989. Noted as an artist from an early age.

Completed GED diploma in Orange County Juvenile Hall 1997. In and out of incarceration 1997-2001.

Professional software engineer since 2007.

I started making art seriously in 2020 (during the pandemic) through daily painting and drawing. What started as a practice for mental health developed into a strong sense of “this is what I was always meant to do”. I sold my first artwork in 2020 at a neighborhood craft fair in San Francisco and began meeting other artists who encouraged my development and showed me the ropes.

• Member of City Art Gallery co-op since 2020 (https://www.cityartgallery.org/about).

• Member of ArtSpan since 2021 (https://www.artspanart.org).

• Excelsior Art Initiative, public art installation at Pollo Supremo March 2021 and Dark Horse Inn October 2022 (https://www.artspanart.org/eainewyear2021, https://www.artspanart.org/eai-summer2022)

• Group shows, auctions, fundraisers, solo exhibits in galleries in the Mission, Excelsior, SoMA and the Tenderloin. City Art Gallery, 111 Minna Gallery, Moth Belly Gallery, Low Key, Incline Gallery, ArtSpan, One & Done, Sketchboard Co, Trapxart, and many popup art events (https://www.mothbelly.org/past-exhibits, https://www.instagram.com/111minnagallery/p/CxeiFH7rqb4/?img_index=7, https://sfartguide.com/2024/01/31/sf-art-guide-feb-1st-4th-2024/)

• Over 300 original artworks sold in 7 different countries

• Selected in The deYoung Open 2023 (https://deyoungopen2023.artcall.org/submissions/qr-view/430876)

• Superfine Art Fair (Fort Mason) participant 2023 and 2025 where I held a painting workshop (https://www.theartfairgallery.com/event/superfine-art-fair-san-francisco-fall-edition-2023/,  https://www.superfine.world/sf25-programming)

I make art in a range of genres and mediums, working from life, photo reference, imagination and memory. Sketch booking and figure drawing are a regular part of my practice. Drawing and painting are inextricably linked and I am influenced equally by art historical figures as I am “low-brow” art like cartoons and comic books.

I’m married with 3 kids and my hobbies are basketball, bass guitar and music production (https://soundcloud.com/deepthawtz), and finally learning Spanish properly.