From the very beginning, my journey has been one big foreshadow cycle, and I think it still is. From sketching small band logos on the high school desks to painting massive logos on stage backdrops for concerts seen around the world. Maybe the Universe had a series of reveals planned. I wonder, because another one of my artworks as a kid was of animals painting a billboard. There I was, many years later, painting billboards in the billboard capital of the world. Fabulous Las Vegas.

It seems to have been revealing itself over time because of the many telltale signs, including my increased interest in helping kids. Here I am, after a reveal showing me a little boy and his mom on the news standing next to the ashes and ruins of their home in Altadena, CA., taken by the massive Los Angeles fire in January 2025. The boy said to the reporter and photojournalist, “And it’s all lost its color.” That knocked me sideways. I had already been putting more time, thought, and action into helping kids. I’ve been building the interactive FX Whimsical Planet Launch Pad for guest presentations at schools, which is structured under my Curious Kids Workshop initiative. I really wanted to take art supplies to the Ukrainian refugee kids in 2022, but it came up so quickly and it just couldn't happen due to various variables and time. But that one boy’s words on the news dramatically sharpened my focus, and it all came together.

The Melted Crayons Mission came to be and I love it! It’s just right, as the other story goes. I knew I had to scale this up and get busy helping kids who’ve lost art supplies lost in a home fire. For a long time I have felt obligated and responsible to help not only with expediting tangible supplies, but making sure these kids get that creative outlet, which in my view is imperative because it’s among the vital paths to healing and getting through.

For over 15 years, I painted stage backdrops for high-profile classic rock and '80s rock bands. I painted in every imaginable situation and often hand-delivered them in moments of equally strange situations. Probably the most notable experience was attending a private show with a backdrop way out in the Kansas sticks for Vince Neil of Motley Crue. A delivery to Queensryche at the Hard Rock in Vegas was also unforgettable. I never imagined my work would fly on stage behind some of the most well-known acts on some of the most legendary stages around the world. I am truly honored for such an amazing opportunity.

After many drops, the full-circle realization and bliss came when I painted a backdrop for KISS’s private party in Hollywood. The process of painting it and delivering it was amazing. Growing up, my walls were covered in KISS posters from floor to ceiling, now my art flew so silent under the stage lights. It’s a strange thing seeing that. But honestly, it wasn’t completely about the process of creating the backdrops. It was about getting the resume and portfolio that I knew would take me higher. The process itself was a gas, but the result, the credibility, and the opportunities it created was, and still is, a wonderful experience.

Before going into the world of painted backdrops, I spent over a decade (1997–2010) painting large-scale commercial signs for major corporations, the US Government, and inside the motorsports world. That’s how I ended up painting the Bandimere Speedway logo at the starting line of the drag strip a week before the amazing Mile High Nationals, the same track where I had placed 8th in the High School Drags years earlier. That was another full-circle moment I found kinda cool.

Seeing my work at the same place where my racing passion began many years earlier felt like it was just meant to be. Especially because shortly before that, I crew chiefed a local NASCAR team and traveled a bit with another team. That was an amazing time setting up the cars for speed and watching them win, and sometimes crash, with my graphics on the sides.

Las Vegas in the 90s was a game-changer after art school and before starting the sign business back in Denver. I landed a job painting names of entertainers and their billboards with show dates on the Strip. It had it’s scary moments, but it was an incredible rush painting high above the ground with a view of the tourist down below. Not only was the job cool, but I was also exposed to a couple of the top painters in the country with decades of experience. They took me under their wing and showed me the very valuable ropes of art, and the one’s keeping you up on the board.

The lessons I learned in Vegas — from technique to professionalism — shaped how I approach my work to this day .Unfortunately, the billboard world was a dead-end street due to printing technology. Machines were starting to print the graphics on large banner, called a super-flex, which were then stretched over the billboard by the installation crew. The technology didn’t interest me the least bit, but I was going to ride out the hand-painting aspect for as long as possible. I did, for almost 30 years. It was a lot of fun, and sometimes a bit crazy, but I would certainly do it all again because it led me here.

The ‘80s, when the rock scene was a ‘more attitude with an edge’ spinoff from the 70s, was kickin’. That was such an amazing time, as many would agree. Going to concerts, hanging out with friends, the lingering 70s, and the huge respect for the cops on patrol who drag raced us, just after they busted us for drag racing. And, of course… the painted graphics on my first car, a grandma’s ‘72 Chevy Nova.

During that same ‘crazy fun’ time I wanted to ramp it up in the arts, so I attended two commercial art schools in pursuit of knowledge. Learning the technical side of typography, layout, paste-ups and camera-ready art for print and graphic publications was a huge plus. It not only gave me the resume addition I knew would open a door or two in the future, it also allowed me to turn in my work to somebody that was qualified to dissect and critique it. I now knew a little more about designing logos, so I worked with some local bands to take a peek at an idea brewing. I wanted to get my art exposed to the public.

Middle school was all about BMX racing and I was having a blast. We were jumping our friends in the street. Landing on our friends in the street, and racing at the regional sponsored tracks. I ranked 8th in Colorado at one point and was experiencing a bit of promotional work opportunities for the sport. The expedition team I was on, when off the track, had jumping gigs at shopping malls, etc which led to a live interview with Steve Kelly, a well known Denver DJ back in the day. I landed a front-page story on The Denver Post by suggesting a story to them, and had a leading role in a BMX commercial for No Mor Flats innertube company. It was my first taste of public exposure and I was understanding more how visibility and credits create opportunity, and opportunities are open doors.

A teenager in high school. It’s time to move from pedal power to gas power, and lots of it! Having a hot rod in high school meant going to the High School Drags at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado. Me and the hot rod gang hitched all the wagons together and made our way across town to the track. To my delight, I finished 8th out of 400+ cars competing. I can still smell the gas, rubber, hear the cars and see all the banners and signs of the racing world. Good times.

I remember laying on the front room floor with crayons and colored pencils, watching Sonny and Cher, The Wonderful World of Disney, and wildlife shows. Bliss. I still have some of those early pieces — scribbles that, in my mind, are masterpieces. It’s amazing to hold that stuff half a century later. Even back then, the music, the ‘70s vibe, and the experimental decor all around town were creating a curiosity in me towards design and branding.

So here I am, all these years later. I feel amazing and this all makes a lot of sense. I’m excited to see the opportunities brought on by actions for a lot of positive results, good vibes and good things. I’ll come back to the story and fill in more tales from the past years that went by and add the new adventures that happened along the Melted Crayons Mission’s path.