Getting Started.. My Art.

Hi folks. I'm just getting this rolling so that I can begin making connections and continue to advance my career as an artist.
Here's a little info about me. I was born and raised in Pennsylvania in the suburbs of Philly. My parents are both artists. My mom is a great land scape painter and my father has been working as a sculptor for 30 years. He has done some very high profile portrait work for Tonner and the Franklin Mint. Aside from winning Doll of the Year three times, he is also an established classical oil painter. My brother is a blossoming author currently residing in south east Asia where he teaches English.
I stumbled my way through public high-school and failed art! I nearly did not graduate. Admittedly I was very distracted by skateboarding. Upon graduating, I took a job at a department store. I hated it so much it convinced me that I had to do something more with my life. I decided to fall back on my art. I ended up enrolling at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia. I was very happy there. I painted and sculpted non-stop. I felt like I had finally found my niche. Upon graduating I worked for about a year selling land-scape paintings and doing commission work. I decided I wanted to get married (to my girl-friend of 2 years) so I needed to find gainful employment. To make a long story short, I submitted my portfolio to McFarlane Toys and they hire me in June 2003.
My employment at McFarlane has been quite an adventure. Needless to say I was very inexperienced when I was hired. In fact I spent a good portion of the first year I was there sculpting nothing but shoes and gloves for athletes. I slowly worked my way up though. I had the honor of working with and being trained by some major industry heavy-weights. Jean St Jean, Mike Locascio, and Andy Frank to name a few. I have had the opportunity to work on hundreds of varied projects. From monsters, to athletes, TV personalities, and comic book characters. There is very little that I have not had some experience with.
As of June 2009, I will no longer be employed at McFarlane Toys. Due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, the company has found itself in a position where a major restructuring was needed. It's no secret that the terrible economic recession had a large part to play in this. This has led to the layoff of nearly ALL of the in-house artists. Unfortunately my job is among these. It was a great ride while it lasted.

So here's to the future! I'm now a freelance artist. I'm hanging out my shingle. I'm a young, motivated artist that is looking for a chance to prove myself with other companies and individuals willing to tap my abilities. I enjoy being challenged and I look forward to expanding my experience. Thanks for looking!!