About
I'm a self-taught artist that has always had a love for drawing. For as far back as I can remember, I would draw animals and cartoon characters, which both of my grandmas would hang on their fridge. I checked out book after book from the library that taught you different drawing techniques. I taught myself how to draw, although I do credit my grandma for my artistic abilities.
She herself was an artist and I always say that I inherited my talents from her.
She herself was an artist and I always say that I inherited my talents from her.
Around the time I was 8 years old, I started drawing animals and paying more attention to the little details. When I was 13,
I finished my first intricate portrait of the famous rodeo bull "Bodacious" and continued to work on my
techniques. My style has always been more intricate, focusing on the little details. In the beginning, I drew everything in graphite
and everyone kept telling me that I should do some pieces in color. I wanted to, but wasn't sure how. At the time I didn't have any knowledge of professional colored pencils, so I just continued to draw in black and white.
I finished my first intricate portrait of the famous rodeo bull "Bodacious" and continued to work on my
techniques. My style has always been more intricate, focusing on the little details. In the beginning, I drew everything in graphite
and everyone kept telling me that I should do some pieces in color. I wanted to, but wasn't sure how. At the time I didn't have any knowledge of professional colored pencils, so I just continued to draw in black and white.
In 1999 when I was 16, I set up my first website in hopes of starting my own little business with drawing animal portraits. My dad helped me by taking my completed artwork to Staples and had them put on disks so that I could feature them on my site. At this point in time, the internet wasn't nearly the size that it is now and social media wasn't even a thing yet. The only way for my art to get noticed was by using SEO and word of mouth. Not surprisingly, my website and artwork never took off and honestly I wasn't terribly surprised. It was difficult to get noticed and although I knew some people made drawing animals their job, I just wasn't sure if I would ever be able to. So focused on getting a "real job". I applied to and was accepted to Iowa State University, where I was planning to go to school to be a veterinarian. As long as I can remember, I had told everyone that I was going to be a vet. But during my senior year of high school, I kept getting this nagging feeling in my gut that I needed to do something with my art. I graduated in 2001 and chose not to go to ISU and instead attended a community college near home, tried to attend their art classes and I hated it. I just couldn't focus on what I had envisioned for myself and my artwork.
In 2002, my husband I got married and we moved across the country to Washington state where he was stationed with the Navy. I continued to draw, only very occasionally, and didn't put much thought into reviving my dream of drawing animals for a living. A few years later we moved back to Iowa, bought a house and started a family. After our first daughter was born in 2010, I quit my job at an auditing company to become a stay at home mom. When she was about 6 months old, I felt like I wanted to start something at home while still using my creative side. It was then that I bit the bullet, purchased Adobe Illustrator, started my own sole proprietorship and opened Backwoods Design Studio doing some graphic design work creating prints, invitations & stationery. To begin with, I just created designs that were purchased by customers online and an online site printed everything to send the orders out. Eventually I did some freelance work, opened my own Etsy store and started designing & printing everything myself. I kept busy with this, but drawing was always in the back of my mind. I'd draw some animals here and there and it always reminded me how much I enjoyed it....and really missed it.
In 2017, I finally decided that I wanted to circle back to my drawings. I had already purchased a professional Epson printer
for my graphic design work several years prior and with it, I'm able to make prints of my art. But I finally bought professional colored pencils and set out to do what I've always wanted to do: draw animals as a job.
My husband and I now have 3 girls and a small farm. Life keeps us busy, but I'm absolutely thrilled that I get
to do what I love with art. Thirteen year old me would be so excited.
In 2002, my husband I got married and we moved across the country to Washington state where he was stationed with the Navy. I continued to draw, only very occasionally, and didn't put much thought into reviving my dream of drawing animals for a living. A few years later we moved back to Iowa, bought a house and started a family. After our first daughter was born in 2010, I quit my job at an auditing company to become a stay at home mom. When she was about 6 months old, I felt like I wanted to start something at home while still using my creative side. It was then that I bit the bullet, purchased Adobe Illustrator, started my own sole proprietorship and opened Backwoods Design Studio doing some graphic design work creating prints, invitations & stationery. To begin with, I just created designs that were purchased by customers online and an online site printed everything to send the orders out. Eventually I did some freelance work, opened my own Etsy store and started designing & printing everything myself. I kept busy with this, but drawing was always in the back of my mind. I'd draw some animals here and there and it always reminded me how much I enjoyed it....and really missed it.
In 2017, I finally decided that I wanted to circle back to my drawings. I had already purchased a professional Epson printer
for my graphic design work several years prior and with it, I'm able to make prints of my art. But I finally bought professional colored pencils and set out to do what I've always wanted to do: draw animals as a job.
My husband and I now have 3 girls and a small farm. Life keeps us busy, but I'm absolutely thrilled that I get
to do what I love with art. Thirteen year old me would be so excited.
