ABOUT ME
My story began in Pittsburgh, PA.
Initially, after high school, I studied art education at California University of Pennsylvania (now PennWest California), but after two years, I switched focus and ended up 1000 miles away from home in Orlando FL where I attended The DAVE (Digital Animation and Visual Effects) School to study digital animation and visual effects. After earning my degree, I worked in Orlando for a small studio on a children's show, but less than a year later I accepted a job at a studio in Los Angeles CA.
I bounced between projects working as a 3D generalist artist, working on game trailers and independent films. I enjoyed my career, but I wanted to move back to Pennsylvania. This was before remote work had really become a thing, so when I moved back I switched gears professionally for a while.
I kept up my art in the background, staying acquainted with my creative side. Gradually, over several years, I started accepting commissions as friends and family reached out to me with requests for artwork.
In 2017, I accepted a position at an architectural illustration firm here in Pittsburgh. However, just a few months later, my world changed again.
That same year, my son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and as the parent with sole custody, everything else in my life screeched to a halt. It soon became apparent that a full-time job away from home would not work for our living situation and new circumstances. I needed the flexibility for exhausting overnight caretaking as well as doctor's appointments and sick days and calls from the school nurse. Then, at the very end of that year, I met up with an old friend and had a long talk. With their encouragement, I decided to become a full-time self-employed artist.
It has been a wild ride since then. I started selling my artwork and stickers on Etsy. I wrote and illustrated a children’s book about Type 1 Diabetes. I started doing regular freelance work. I designed a few drumheads and album covers for local musicians. I started doing more commissioned paintings. I did stamp illustrations for a local paper-crafting company. I have done character design for authors. In 2019, I started doing courtroom sketching. For a short time, until the pandemic, I even did face painting.
My dream in life is to create art that lives on long after I am gone. I will pursue that dream until the end of my days. Life has changed in so many ways over the years, with loss and joy, discovery and growth. But through it all, I create. As Taylor Swift says:
"Everything you lose is a step you take."
Artistically Yours,
Emily
