19 x 22

Medium: pen and ink, watercolor

"I am the boat that has never seemed to be able to stay afloat; or I should say I was. Was because life has changed. I was taken apart, disassembled by life; I was broken. Identity was a scrambled mess of all the good, bad and horror the world dumped on me; I was the result of trauma and functioned behind masks. Masks fashioned to fit other people's narratives of who they wanted me to be. Sadly, those many masks failed me. Then I failed. I fell but I would not stay down. Someone saw, witnessed and expressed their vision of the me I could not see. Would not see. I decided to trust their perspective. I began to grow; I began to see me. Now, IDENTITY to me is the sum of the whole we choose to embrace. I now embrace God, Christ, The Spirit, Love, Peace, Respect, Trust, Truth, Vulnerability, Courage, Honor, Others, Hope, Self-Worth, and I embrace Faith. Most important, I embrace by all this the Right Man God gave me Purpose to be."

22 x 26

Medium: pen and ink, colored pencils - framed

"I am the boat that has never seemed to be able to stay afloat; or I should say I was. Was because life has changed. I was taken apart, disassembled by life; I was broken. Identity was a scrambled mess of all the good, bad and horror the world dumped on me; I was the result of trauma and functioned behind masks. Masks fashioned to fit other people's narratives of who they wanted me to be. Sadly, those many masks failed me. Then I failed. I fell but I would not stay down. Someone saw, witnessed and expressed their vision of the me I could not see. Would not see. I decided to trust their perspective. I began to grow; I began to see me. Now, IDENTITY to me is the sum of the whole we choose to embrace. I now embrace God, Christ, The Spirit, Love, Peace, Respect, Trust, Truth, Vulnerability, Courage, Honor, Others, Hope, Self-Worth, and I embrace Faith. Most important, I embrace by all this the Right Man God gave me Purpose to be."

blank notecard 5×7 with matching linen-color envelope

“Justice formed on natural law must be vigilantly maintained, always in a state of moral repair."

Paint, glue, tears, and pain
4" × 4"

Artist Statement:
“I look at this country today and it’s almost completely unrecognizable from the country I knew as a child. From the country I knew when I joined the Marine Corps — everything is different. I’ve watched my brother Marines mask the pain, the suffering, the inner insanity of what it was to be a warrior and to do the things that warriors do. I’ve watched some of them take their lives, and I’ve watched my brother Marines deteriorate from all forms of physical and mental disease. There is nothing glamorous, nothing heroic — there is only darkness, pain, and suffering. Once you become a Marine, it’s forever. It can never be undone and it will be a life spent in the winds of agony.”
For Sale: Prints only

14 x 11 / print only

For nearly 3 1/2 years I have been incarcerated; yet, I have made every effort to live in the mindset of freedom. Every day is a therapeutic endeavor to improve. Every day, my pen creates art, poems and notes; the pen has become the tool for transformation. It honors those I’ve encountered here in the DOC. It keeps love alive in my family. The pen heals me, it heals us, sends out my SOS. It humbly places on display my New Heart. This piece is part of that New Heart; “On fragile paper is my fragile heart for you to see and for me to be.”

14 x 11 / print only

I painted the face of Christ on a day when I felt alone and without hope.

Carl G. Jung's art-making and ideologies were an impressive lifelong affair that relied upon mixed media, making it reasonable for us to consider Jung the father of art therapy.  Edward Adamson is also considered the father of art therapy in Britain.

Both advocated for the use of Art as a form of recovery from mental illness. Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses Art for communication and self-expression. The idea is that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, and increase self-esteem and self-awareness. It gives a voice to the inner self that has struggled to be understood. It became a neural pathway to have conversations with the pain of PTSD that I've struggled with for years. It became my peace.Art therapy can treat a wide range of mental disorders and psychological distress, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and substance use disorder. Beyond mental disorders, Art can soothe physical pain symptoms, enhance the quality of life among adult and children cancer patients, and improve the ability to cope with pain and other distressing symptoms.

Art has become my place of Peace.Who we are is as simple as what we see; who we are is as complicated as what we see; what we see will kill us, grow us, and transform us. What we see is powerful; what we see has power, but how we choose to see has more power. SEE WITH LOVING EYES.

14 x 11 / print only

Who we are is as simple as what we see; who we are is as complicated as what we see; what we see will kill us, grow us, and transform us. What we see is powerful; what we see has power, but how we choose to see has more power. SEE WITH LOVING EYES.

14 x 11 / print only

I believe that this piece like the other two could stand alone but that when looking at them it moved me to do a third piece to connect them; as there is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus this piece is the Dim Light growing within me. It couldhave been ignored and I could have sat in the darkness, the dim light is there for all to grow brighter and brighter. It’s this Dim Light that connects all people.

14 x 11 / print only

My wife and I lost two babies before our youngest was born. The losses occurred one year apart on November 17th, one hour apart; Madison was then conceived and born on August 18th. Madison's name has meaning; it is God's Little Fighter," it held so true as we nearly lost her three times.

She asked me, "Daddy, will you draw me a cat?" thus, Mouser was created. I also pulled inspiration from the poet William Butler Yeats in "The Cat and the Moon."

"HE cat went here and there

And the moon spun round like a top,

And the nearest kin of the moon,

The creeping cat, looked up.

Black Minnaloushe stared at the moon,

For, wander and wail as he would,

The pure cold light in the sky

Troubled his animal blood.

Minnaloushe runs in the grass

Lifting his delicate feet.

Do you dance, Minnaloushe, do you dance?

When two close kindred meet,

What better than call a dance?

Maybe the moon may learn,

Tired of that courtly fashion,

A new dance turn.

Minnaloushe creeps through the grass

From moonlit place to place,

The sacred moon overhead

Has taken a new phase.

Does Minnaloushe know that his pupils

Will pass from change to change,

And that from round to crescent,

From crescent to round they range?

Minnaloushe creeps through the grass

Alone, important and wise,

And lifts to the changing moon

His changing eyes.

I love that my courage has been found to embrace color as I see it; my wife and children are my heart and soul. I love them all so deeply.

I love Mouser...

I hope you enjoy it..

(50% to donate to good cause, 40% back to AFTI)

26 x 20

Medium: Acrylic paint

I believe that this piece like the other two could stand alone but that when looking at them it moved me to do a third piece to connect them; as there is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus this piece is the Dim Light growing within me. It couldhave been ignored and I could have sat in the darkness, the dim light is there for all to grow brighter and brighter. It’s this Dim Light that connects all people.

(50% to donate to good cause, 40% back to AFTI)

12 x 18

Medium: Acrylic paint

Who we are is as simple as what we see; who we are is as complicated as what we see; what we see will kill us, grow us, and transform us. What we see is powerful; what we see has power, but how we choose to see has more power. SEE WITH LOVING EYES.

(50% to donate to good cause, 40% back to AFTI)

22.5 x 16.5

Medium: Ink pen

For nearly 3 1/2 years I have been incarcerated; yet, I have made every effort to live in the mindset of freedom. Every day is a therapeutic endeavor to improve. Every day, my pen creates art, poems and notes; the pen has become the tool for transformation. It honors those I’ve encountered here in the DOC. It keeps love alive in my family. The pen heals me, it heals us, sends out my SOS. It humbly places on display my New Heart. This piece is part of that New Heart; “On fragile paper is my fragile heart for you to see and for me to be.”

18 x 14 / 21 x 17 framed (sold separately)

100% of proceeds to be donated to AFTI

Medium: Ink and Watercolor

I painted the face of Christ on a day when I felt alone and without hope.

Carl G. Jung's art-making and ideologies were an impressive lifelong affair that relied upon mixed media, making it reasonable for us to consider Jung the father of art therapy.  Edward Adamson is also considered the father of art therapy in Britain.

Both advocated for the use of Art as a form of recovery from mental illness. Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses Art for communication and self-expression. The idea is that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, and increase self-esteem and self-awareness. It gives a voice to the inner self that has struggled to be understood. It became a neural pathway to have conversations with the pain of PTSD that I've struggled with for years. It became my peace.Art therapy can treat a wide range of mental disorders and psychological distress, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and substance use disorder. Beyond mental disorders, Art can soothe physical pain symptoms, enhance the quality of life among adult and children cancer patients, and improve the ability to cope with pain and other distressing symptoms.

Art has become my place of Peace.