I thought I was going to be a teacher until a summer camp staff experience in my college years stopped me in my tracks, made me realize working with middle schoolers definitely wasn't for me, and left me without a major.
So I jumped into the art department. Specifically, painting. Oil Painting. I love that it’s messy. I love that it dries slowly. I love the way it smells.
I love that it can be beautiful and surprising and dangerous and funny and serious. I love that it’s a place where impossible things become possible.
I love that it’s a place to wrestle with who you are, with what you believe, with where you are going, and then it presents that to the world in beautiful and surprising ways while inviting others into the same wrestle or conversation or action. I love that art begs a response…to go, to do, to think, and to change.
Blake graduated from Georgia Southwestern State University in 2002 with a BFA concentrating in painting. Blake takes the same thought process he learned in his approach to fine arts and applies it to everything he works on today—animation, illustration, graphic design, or brand development.
Blake has worked as an in-house designer, animator, video producer, web designer, art director, and creative director for various non-profits and in the publishing industry. In addition to working as a freelance artist, Blake has also taught gap-year courses and lead workshops on creative thinking and communication.
Blake lives with his wife and three sons in upstate South Carolina.
