What was your early life like?
I was born in Jamestown, N.Y. in 1973. When I was 2 years old I moved to Western MA. where I lived in and around Hadley and Amherst until I finished the 6th grade. At that point, I moved to Cooperstown, NY where I lived until I entered high school in Albany, NY. When I was 18, I moved out on my own to Astoria, Queens.
What were you like as a kid? What did you gravitate towards?
I remember being very shy. For the most part, I grew up with my Mom and sister. When I was young I spent a lot of time on my own alone in the woods where I collected clay from a hole in the ground that it naturally spouted from. I would collect it and form shapes in my hand, or sit by the edge of the hole and make things and set them down to make another. I also spent a lot of time searching for and finding arrow heads deep in the forest or in the farming fields nearby that neighbored the edge of the trees. At this time I was also deeply fascinated by sharks.
Where and when did being an artist begin for you? What first piqued your interest?
When I was very young I was given a postcard from The Natural Science Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. It’s right here in front of me. On the back it says “Dunkleosteus terrelli – A Huge Armored Fish of The Devonian Period, 350 million years ago. This original skull was found in the Rocky River Valley in Cleveland Shale. Fish of this kind reached a length of 50 feet. A very rare museum specimen.” This image always deeply fascinated me, and as a result I have always kept it near. Also, I used to spend a lot of time drawing over and over again the streak of grey that waves through the hair of Reed Richards from the Fantastic Four, and as well drawing the crown of preceptors found on Batman’s mask, and also the wings that are found on the head of The Flash. At the age of 18 I found a brown paper bag of oil paint for 25 cents at a garage sale, and when I got it home found a soft cover book entitled Francis Bacon Interviews With David Sylvester. After reading this several times over, I was convicted of becoming a painter.
