Thanks for taking a look at my work! 

 

A little about my history with art: I started drawing (well, doodling Camaro cars) when I was 14 back in the '60s and from that started drawing cartoons, eventually becoming the cartoonist for my high school paper. The cartoons expanded into drawing Christmas cards for friends and family and eventually drawing realistically. I was a big fan back then of Frank Frazetta's fantasy book covers and tried to emulate them. My drawing was all I had, really, it was mine, something apart from others. I wanted to attend art school but eventually decided college wasn't right for me and just pursued learning art on my own.

 

My Norwegian great great grandfather, Hans Gude's, was an incredible romanticist painter and watercolorist, and he was an inspiration to try oil painting, which I didn't get into until I was almost 30.

 

How to draw: For me, there are three important ways one can grow one's ability to draw..

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• The first is eye drawing, which means observing what's in front of you and interpreting it on paper however you like. . 

• Another is brain drawing, which is drawing something you recall or imagine. 

• Finally, there's mind drawing, meaning mindless doodling of nothing specific, letting your mind run with it. ​

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Through all of these flows creative interpretation, the joy of finding your own artistic voice.

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Professional artist: Like a million other aspiring artists, I moved to  to move to New York City at 24 to find work in art. Thanks to the support and encouragement of friends and people I met along the way, I got lucky and found work in the field of journalism doing explanatory news graphics, drawings that explained how something happened, like a plane crash or a shooting. I discovered I not only loved art but I loved research and information, too. I spent 25 years working as a creative director, graphic designer, and information artist for Newsweek, the Associated Press, and other news organizations making infographics and drawing illustrations and cartoons to illustrate news stories. On the side, I continued developing my skills doing my personal art —paintings, drawings, printmaking, and kids' stuff. 

 

Teaching: In 2006 I was invited to start a program for infographics at Michigan State University, something that took me completely by surprise since I only had a high school degree. I wound up working there as a faculty instructor in the School of Journalism for 15 years teaching in two key areas: creative problem-solving and information art. I was fortunate to have won college and university awards for my teaching. 

 

Consulting:I have consulted with a variety of organizations on the topics of visual communication and creative problem-solving. I have also presented at numerous conferences, including four TEDx talks and spoke more than once at the South by Southwest (SXSW) technology conference on the “Power of Visual Storytelling."  

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Personal life: I am married to the fantastic Dorsey Weber and have two wonderful sons, Cole and Erik. No home base.