I am as much an artist as I am a Biologist, althought my formal education is in the arts, having graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design with a BFA in sculpture and installation, my work experience to date is animal related. I owe my vast interest in animals to my father who kept a variety of exotic reptiles like a 15 foot Burmese python, large boa constrictors, aligator snapping turtles, and exotic creatures such as tarantulas, millipedes, giant cockroaches, hermit crabs, and an assortment of birds, fish and amphibians. Due to my father’s interest in wildlife, I began keeping, breeding and caring for reptiles, amphibians, bugs and fish (both fresh and salt). In my teens I kept saltwater fish and coral and had a full breeding colony of corn snakes. The majority of my jobs so far have been in pet shops and vet clinics. Biology has always seeped into my art. As a child I taught myself how to draw because I loved the shapes of insects and I had an irresistible desire to draw them .
I started to draw seriously at the age six, but it was during high school where I constantly worked at perfecting my drawing skills, taking art classes and making copious notes, that by the end of my high school 12th grade I decided make art my career vocation. Taking a year off to earn my art school tuition, I enrolled at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) and took a major in Sculpture (which as of now I am a year from completing). I Draw and paint on my own time. I also Explore abandoned buildings in search for new sights and compositions. I Work most often with oil and acrylic paints and oil pastels, and pencil and ink.
I was introduced to mediums of silicon, latex and rubber by a friend of my father, Mark Scott who made mascots and taught me the basics of making costumes and working with latex and silicone. As a horror and sci-fi fan, since the age of four, monsters and special effects captivated me. My first project was constructing the Predator, a creature created by Richard Edlund of Boss Film Studios. I went on to construct various masks and eventually even a zombie costume.
University introduced me to working with metal and cast bronze. I have also explored other materials like Plastercine inside picture frames, wood carving (hand and machine), welding, soap stone, found objects, and natural objects: Corals, leaves, rocks, twigs, insects, bone, shells, claws, etc. Occasionally I experiment with claymation and make strange Plastercine characters.
Graduating from Ontario college of Art and Design (OCAD) with a major in sculpture, I began working with metal and plastic fabrication and bronze casting. Bronze casting has become a great passion of mine. Working as a sculptor with wood plastic and metal has taught mea number ot skills and made me a functioning trades person as well as an artist. I have a lot of experience with power tools, drill presses, scroll saws, table saws, jig saws, angle grinders, power sanders, pneumatic rotary polishing/grinding tools, jack-hammers, belt-sanding machines, sand blasters, polishing machines, Sanding machines, water-sanding machines, machine grinders, plasma cutting, Spot-welding machines, Punch-press machines, lathes, shearing/bending-machines.
I also have an interest in film creation and worked on a variety of various experimental films—creating some bizarre, satirical shorts. I have also been experimenting with claymation. By far my biggest passion for film making comes from biology. I have been filming wildlife for the past four years and am in the process of making my own nature documentaries.