Biography

Advice to Incoming Students

The best graphic artists are “hungry.” Hungry to make work, to experiment, solve visual problems, try new things, and break the rules. Being hungry means courting failure at times. When we make mistakes as artists we learn. As Chuck Jones said, “All of you have 100,000 bad drawings in you, the sooner you get rid of them, the better it will be for everyone!”

Why I Enjoy Teaching at Taylor

I work at Taylor because it is a place where genuine faith mixes passionately with professional art practice. I get to work with fantastic artists, teachers, and future rock stars of the graphic arts industry. I get to play a small part in the transformation of art student into professional working artists for the glory of God. Wow.

Hobbies

Indie & world music, monster movies, woodworking, hiking, camping, swimming, rollercoasters, Scripture, and climbing trees.

Major Career Accomplishments

Producing, publishing, and showing professional Illustrator and Designer

Professor of Design—Northwest Nazarene University (1997–2007)

Professor and Art Department Chair—Taylor University, 2007–Present

Stevan Dohanos Best of Show Award—Society of Illustrators, New York, NY

Gelet Burgess Award for outstanding contribution to children’s literature