Art and design has been my central focus as long as I can remember. From a very young age, I have always loved to create. Looking back at my 22 years of life, there have been various factors that have contributed to my present artistic direction.

My German grandfather was very influential in my initial interest in art. Interestingly enough, I think I really owe it all to him! While he was not only an amazing artist and architect, he wore an eyepatch that so intrigued me as a 4year old. Thus, I began drawing pirates and pirate ships - thinking my Opa was one! This is how my imagination grew and my love for drawing began.

Visits to Disney World, having a caricature artist there draw me, more visits to museums and galleries in Europe, watching animations or video games, -- I have always imagined the hard work and artistic vision that went into creating them.

While I’d like to think my love for art comes from my grandpa, my architect father is also very creative and artistic. The name "oboy" was given to me by my father, and it stuck. My father has always encouraged me to do what makes me happy, perhaps leave Green Bay – just to see and draw more of this world! He overlooked my early interests of adapting to drawing quick and easy cartoons and caricatures of family members and celebrities. Pulling inspiration and ideas from artists such as Jason Seiler, Rob Heren and Thomas Fluharty. In my portfolio you can find some pieces that look similar to theirs. As a younger artist, I would try to mimic multiple unique styles to determine what I was best at. This aided me in finding my originality and style.

While spending summers in Door County, Wisconsin, a mecca for artists, I began painting watercolors of the many beautiful landscapes there, utilizing a pen and wash style inspired by the watercolor artist, Peter Scheeler. It was also a great setting for me to meet local artists, learn their techniques and see how they developed their overall style. Oil painter, Lynn Gilchrist, who I have now known for  over half of my life, has been very influential in developing my interest in ‘the natural landscape’ - how beautiful scenes can be captured and translated in new and interesting ways on canvas.

Thus today, while I thoroughly enjoy painting landscapes, I do think of myself as more of a portrait artist. It is really what I love to do. The mediums I use range from charcoal and pencil, to pen, ink, watercolor, colored pencil, and sometimes acrylic for larger projects. Perhaps, if you allow me, I can draw one for you. More recently I've enjoyed digital sketching on my Wacom Cintiq tablet. I've been learning how to use the adobe suite through the product design program at the University of Minnesota, where I'm currently pursuing my third year. It's been a real blast learning how to apply my innate creative skills to real life problem solving, and learning how to sympathize with and fulfill real user needs is super fulfilling in our changing technological world.

People’s faces and gestures have always intrigued me, as well as the discovery of the characteristics that make each person unique. Spawned from an early interest in caricatures, portraiture is my way of not only creating a likeness, but discovering someone's personality and to serve and bring happiness to others. My portraits are a result of the relationships I have made and how my artistic abilities have grown. To bridge the gap between how people see themselves versus how others see them. There is a sense of comfortable familiarity in a portrait that not only holds a likeness but the essence of a person. This is what I am drawn to most. Myself, my closest friends, family members and strangers become the subjects of my work. I celebrate the generous vulnerability allowed by those I am privileged to draw or paint. My portraits honor my interactions with the people that are depicted. My self inclusion in my work symbolizes my agency and how I view myself in constant flux. An ever-changing personality and artistic practices restrict my agency in everyday life, so I repeatedly capture it in different ways through my portraits. Photographs are taken to capture gestures and expressions as my main source material. I also enjoy quickly sketching and observing people in public, to see how someone interacts, sits, talks, and moves, it all plays a part in who they are and aids me in encapsulating the person’s essence rather than just their likeness. A face can tell a lot about a person, their unique expressions, but the way people move and talk is what I’m more interested in, and it has given me the ability to form relationships with my subjects. This connection is the most valuable thing for me as an artist.

In order to grow as an artist, you must disrupt your consciousness and challenge what you're comfortable with in your own making. Being able to render and draw space and objects tells me that there's more to be seen everywhere, and my perspective of the world is open to be shaped and molded. The way I am starting to deduce what is important and what should be prescribed into the visual practice feels far more infinite than what I am using it for. Everything is worthy of being looked at and considered. Drawing isn't just trying to render something to its exact likeness but rather learning how to look at a space, and the space that forms the shape. Understanding the implications of looking can create an excited and curious life.