For months now, I've dedicated my life's work to something new. A new direction. A new vision. And while new to me, it's fundamental to humanity and as old as time itself. Long has man hunted, and long as he drawn of his wild adventures....
Rewind four months to January. I've never been one to become complacent in my work. Always trying something new, always pushing further and never quite happy with the results. So earlier this year, I set out to find a new, more authentic path to follow. I prayed…I sketched…I painted…I googled…I prayed some more. I spent entire days in a library surrounded by dusty old books, pouring over Paleolithic and Native American cave art, studying their style, noting their symbolism and imagining their thought process. And the more I studied, the more I could relate to them.
I imagined them returning from a successful hunt after dark, eyes wide and adrenaline pumping, retelling an epic story over a campfire with hands spread wide, exaggerating the size and brute strength of the animal they felled. The next day, still amped from the thrill of the hunt, they took a break from skinning and preparing meat to tell their story in art. They found ways to mix pigments that stuck to cave walls and used crude tools to create the first wildlife art known to man. All fueled by their passion of the pursuit and their desire to share their story with the next generation of hunters.
And that's how this adventure in rebranding began. Hundreds of roughly sketched logo concepts. Countless phone conversations with Michael Turbyfill, a guy I believe is the best brand expert in the business, who crafted the message and brought the story to life. Early morning hours in my studio, hand-painting logo concepts and a custom font for the slogan. Late night hours of web design. Photo shoots at the tops of mountains and bottoms of river gorges. More conversations with Michael. All culminating in this — the most authentic, soul-level representation of what I feel God has gifted me to do in my life.
So I hope you join me. This blog won't be routine, scheduled, or obnoxiously loaded with keywords to increase my Google rankings. It's designed to share my painting process, experiences outdoors and thoughts on what it means to be an artist and an outdoorsman. God has given us all an opportunity to leave a mark on this Earth.
This will be mine.