Since the age of three, I've been drawing just about any and every form of plant and animal life I have encountered. My first

subjects, of course, were dinosaurs, which I would illustrate constantly. I left no blank piece of paper (or blank wall, for thatmatter)

unaffected by my Mesozoic renderings. You could say without a doubt, that illustrating prehistoric life has been a life-long

obsession. Howeer, my interests do not stop there. My intrigue into ancient cultures and their artwork, animal anatomy and

zoology, and speculative sciences have all contributed to my portfolio styles. I work in all forms of art material. From pencils, inks,

gouache and pastels, to acrylics, plasticine, bronze and wood.

 

Nature is the ultimate and unlimited resource to learn from for all aspects of human growth. I have been fortunate to have

traveled the western United States to experience such grand and incredible visions of beauty. From the Great Plains to the Pacific

Coast, and from the Colorado Rocky Mountains to the Sierra Nevadas, the Cascades, and the Canadian Rockies, I've had

much inspiration for my artwork. 

 

While I was earning my illustration degree at the Rocky Mountain College of

Art & Design in Denver, Colorado in the early 90's, I had the awesome

opportunity to work first-hand with fossils at the Denver Museum of Nature

and Science. At the museum's paleontology lab working with Kenneth Carpenter,

Karen Alf, and Jerry Harris, I was able to learn a great deal about fossil

preparation. This experience led me from air-scribing ammonites and small

eocene mammal skulls, to reconstructing triceratop and diplodocus vertebrae,

and even restoring to full vigor a shattered T. rex tooth. I share a deep respect for other paleo artists who firmly take on the task

of accurately reconstruction prehitoric animals in their works. 

 

Upon arriving in the Pacific Northwest in the mid 90's, I merged my traditional fine art techniques with those of the digital realms.

Using such software programs as Photoshop and Illustrator I have found new ways to enhance my already vibrant compositions.

As this modern age becomes more and more aparently modern, my direction as toward where I project my portfolio tends to

move sideways along its own path, neither becoing too advanced, nor becoming stagnantly lost. It is true there is a strong degree

of relic yesteryear feel in my work, and that is the style I seek to personify. If art is communication, then what I wish to

communicate is to never forget where you came from. 

                                                                                                                                       - Erik