Bear Mountain Woodworx - Carving and Painting in Big Bear

I,ve been painting as long as I’ve been able to speak. I grew up all over the country. My father and grandfather were both artists at heart and avid woodcarvers. Carving for me started warming up around the turn of the century in Big Bear, CA. At first, it was just my wife and I and a simple little cabin and a ’65 Mustang. 2 years later I was painting what remains to this day to be the biggest mural ever painted in Big Bear and our house was burning to the ground while we were both at work! Since then, “mostly murals” has turned into “mostly woodcarvings” and 1, then 2, then 3 little ones joined the adventure.

My Mother and Father both threw in artistic genes and they are both largely responsible for my creativity before the age of 10. My first paying gig was a colored wax illustration (a crayon drawing) of 2 kissing fish I sold to my grandpa for 6 bucks. I was 6 years old. My Dad taught me construction, mechanics, individuality and self-sufficiency. By a divine twist of fate, after screwing up big time as a teenager, I landed my first paying mural job in Riverside, CA. That mural remains to this day to be the largest mural ever painted in Riverside County. I always loved to draw. Always painted. Always had an eye, heart and soul for beautiful things, places and colors.

I focused on cartooning and technology as a child then pursued art and science equally as an adult. I’m really a nerd, by definition, at heart. The bulk of my education is in engineering, drafting and electronic circuit design with a minor in animation and compositional art. My professional background, outside self-employment, is in tech and manufacturing. I attended the following colleges:

Oxnard Community

Oxnard, CA - Electronics, Mathematics

Harbor Community

San Pedro, CA - Mechanical Drafting, Computers

Riverside Community

Riverside, CA - Environmental Science, Art Design

University of California Riverside

Riverside, CA - Art Design and Media, Oceanography

Lankershim Academy of Animation

North Hollywood, CA - Classic Animation Techniques

ICS Correspondance Academy

Scranton, PA - Master Art Course

So, as it turns out, I’m an eclectic 37 year old hippie with a patchwork resume and a list of qualifications as long as my leg. As all artists do, I guess, I’ve done a lot until I got bored or got in trouble, then took my scattered brains elsewhere. But in the background there has always been, for almost 20 years now, an active business applying my art to pay my way and, eventually, to feed my kids. Believe it or not, I am or have been:

… An Auto Parts Clerk

…A Carnival Ride Operator

…A Video Arcade Manager

…A Disneyland Parade Performer

…A Game Store Manager

…A CNC Mill Machinist

…A Shipping / Receiving Clerk

…A Dice and Board Game Inventor

…A Quality Control Statistician

…A Landscaper / Gardener

…A Finish Contractor / Painter

…An Aircraft Refueler

…A Licensed Scuba Diver

…A Coffee Shop Manager

…A Rock Climbing Guide

…A Janitor in a Nuclear Facility

…A Commercial Sign Painter

…A Manufacturing Floor manager

…An Electronic R&D Technician

…A Hollywood Studio Security Guard

…A Digital Book Writer & Publisher

…An Art Gallery Manager

… and last, but not least – a Father and a Husband

Now I live in beautiful Forks, Washington at the far end of the Olympic peninsula and I guess you could say the long and the short of it is this: I’m self-taught, self-employed, sufficiently educated and moderately experienced. I’ve never taken a serious injury or caused any damage to private property in my work. I do work “on-site” quite a bit depending on the project and have a clean record so far. Scheduling is something I’m working on. I’m dead-on accurate in projecting my deadlines, but I juggle a little too much and come in late more often than I’d prefer. The Lord isn’t finished with me yet. Always room for improvement. As so many of my friends and clients say,

“…You shouldn’t rush art”.

If you’ve read this far I appreciate your curiosity and incentive. You can find out the latest stuff I’m working on along with all the info I can give you toward planning your own project on the projects page. My colleagues around the nation are listed below along with my friends and family connects. Thanks a bunch for taking the time to get to know me. My kids need feedin’ and there’s always room for new friends, so call me some time with an idea. Your spirit and my talent could come together someday and build a new masterpiece…