My Art

A fun fact about me is that I am secretly a good artist, and I never took an art class in high school or college. I am obviously not the best artist in the world but I do love to draw.

I thought that I would share some of my work and what it means to me or why I drew it.

Enjoy!

Photo 1: The Wolf

This was the very first drawing that got me into art. I drew this my senior year of high school. I watched a YouTube video about drawing and then I grabbed my pencil and made this. It took about three hours.

The reason I drew the wolf was because it is my second favorite animal (right behind the bison)! This drawing set the foundation for the rest of my art work.

Photo 2: Two Worlds

I drew this masterpiece for my friend as a graduation gift. It took a very long time to figure out what to draw him because we have a very unique relationship, but this was well worth the efforts.

This friend is the one that go me into art in the first place. He actually drew the tattoo I have on my chest. This piece took several hours, as you can tell by the detail. The day I gave it to my friend, he said, “Jake, I’m not gonna lie, this is the best damn shading I’ve ever seen.”

That was quite the compliment to me since I only draw for fun. This no is proudly displayed in his room back in New York.

Photo 3: Ship in a Bottle

For a very long time I wanted to get this tattooed on my inner bicep. This is one of my favorite pen drawing because it just has so much meaning to me, plus it is some kick ass art, minus this shaky lines.

For me this loaded with meaning. The first thing I thought when I made this was, “When you are feeling trapped, face the storm, do not run from it.” I like that a lot because it applies so much to life. In my opinion, you should never run from a problem, you should always figure out a way to succeed.

Another way I viewed this was the cliche saying “calm waters never made a skilled sailor.” I agree completely 100% with that quote, if you want to be great at something you can’t just do the easy things, you have to endure challenges to grow.

Photo 4: Chief

This was my very first painting that I did with my friend, who really showed me how to paint and the tips and tricks.

This inspiration for this actually came from a sticker that I have on my water bottle. A quick fun fact about me is that I love stickers, I have them on just about everything. This isn’t my best work but it got me started with paint and I was able to grow from there.

I actually got a lot of criticism from friends and family because they all said that the skin wasn’t dark enough. I agree with them for accuracy reasons, but I can only use what I have in front of me.

Photo 5: A Secret Life

This was purely just for fun. I love conspiracies, I will literally watch YouTube videos for hours about different conspiracies. I am also a believer of aliens, bigfoot, etc.

This is an unfinished picture of the painting, as you can tell by the lack of a background. I really love the suit I made for this guy the most. I had so much trouble with making a texture on his head. To this day I still can’t get it right. Art can be so frustrating sometimes, but I love it. 

Photo 6: The GOAT

This Painting truly is the greatest of all time in my art collection.

I literally drew this out of the blue one night during my first semester of college. My roommates were making plans to go party, so I whipped out my brushes and started painting. By the time they got back 5ish hours later I had this sitting on my desk ready to be viewed.

I really don’t know how I pulled this one off guys. Seriously, I haven’t painted anything since because there is just know way I can top this. I love this painting so much, it really just shows how much you can grow if you practice enough and enjoy what you are doing.

This just speaks volumes to me in the sense that anything is possible if you give it enough time and practice.

Photo 7: Shark 

This ink drawing was for a friend in college. He knew that I dabbled with art and needed a cover up for a drunk tattoo. My friend loves sea life and everything that has to do with the ocean. He wanted a shark tattoo so This is what I came up with for him.

This was really the first pointillism drawing I ever did and will probably be the last because it literally takes forever.  I am really better with pencil and shading than I am pen.

When I drew this it came out better than I expected but the more I looked at it the more I wanted to tweak it. The best advice I ever got since then about art was, “don’t rush it, if you need to leave it for two weeks then do it, you’ll thank yourself later.”

So now a drawing for me can take several weeks, because I want everything I make and do to have my best efforts.  I also try to do everything in life with my best efforts, because what is the point if you’re not going to try your best?

Photo 8: My Next Big Project

This is my next big project. It has been several months since I have drawn everything and this is going to be the project to get me back in the game.

This is a totem pole of all my favorite animals, and each one has a different meaning to me. To me the Bison is a symbol of strength and to keep pushing forward. The Bear represents courage and to fear nothing. The Ram is a reminder that no obstacle is to big. The wolf represents the importance of family and that family does not mean the same blood. And finally the deer is something that I hunt, it is a tradition in my family and it is a drawing of the first buck that I ever got.

This is the very very very rough draft of what is to come, but this is my next project, and I might even get it tattooed on me.

I hope you enjoyed my work, it is just a small fraction of the things I have done. Feel free to leave a comment about what one was your favorite!