CURRENT MISSION

I am traveling the country, moving to different areas every few months as I build my art portfolio.

ABOUT ME

I was born in Knoxville Tennessee, and when I was three, moved to South Central Pennsylvania with my mother, brother, and sister when my parents got divorced. My father moved to Cocoa Beach Florida, where he lived off of his art from '86 till '95, when he passed away. He lived an untraditional lifestyle to say the least. He was a certified beach bum. He would surf and fish all day, eating his catch, and selling his art off of the beach when he needed money. He made enough from his art to travel the country pursuing his dreams. He would go to Hawaii for a month and live off of the land, or travel deep into the Canadian Wilderness for a time and do the same. For almost a decade he lived his dream without anything holding him back. Unfortunately my mother kept me from having a relationship with him, and we never saw each other more than six times after my parents divorce. I grew up hearing about the beauty of Tennessee, where I was born, but had no memories of. With dreams of Cocoa Beach, where my father and hero lived and thrived in his own way. And with mental images of the travels across the country my family did together before I was born. From the moment I could hold a pencil or paintbrush, I grasped onto my art like a drowning man to a piece of floating debris. When I was ten I had the opportunity to fly to Cocoa Beach for a week and spend time with my father. It will always be one of my most cherished memories. I always felt that my father wasn't the person my mother made him out to be, and cherished the opportunity to see that truth firsthand. The next year he drove up to take me on a roadtrip to visit his brother in Connecticut, and the other, in Maine. We traveled up the East Coast exploring his old stomping grounds. We lived out of his car, and the places of people he knew on the way for that week. It was just as amazing if not more so than my visit to Florida. As all good things do, the week came to an end, and he dropped me off at home in PA. I was so ecstatic to finally be forming a relationship with the person I idolized the most, and was so excited to see him next and see where we would go. Two weeks later we got the call from my brother telling us that my father had passed away alone in Cocoa Beach. It was very hard for me, as I am sure is obvious. I wasn't able to make it to his funeral, where his ashes were spread from the Cocoa Beach Pier, and by age 29, had never even made it there to get my peace. I completed an incredible amount of art in high school, but when it all got destroyed after leaving it neglected in a basement, I stopped painting for seven years. In the midst of the depression and dependencies I let control my life, I decided to start painting again. I spent 60 hours on one piece, which I worked on in plain air, and was delighted by the results. My lack of effort to better my life continued for a few years, and my painting hit the back burner time and again, but each time I would start to work on my art again, I would climb higher and higher out of my darkness for a time. Eventually I hit rock bottom hard. For several years... I drank myself to oblivion, and would squat in abandoned apartments just to have money for the bar. Finally I came to a point where I had had enough. I moved out of the city I was in, and back towards the more natural settings I had grown up around. I landed a job in a small town, and rather than take people up on their offers to stay on their couch, decided to deal with the consequences of my actions. I stealth camped in a park for three months after having squatted in the city for three as well. My days off were quite boring, and instead of sitting in the library like the other less fortunates I decided to hit the Appalachian Trail, which I had grown up less than an eighth of a mile from. There, I was just another person pursuing his dreams, and not some bum who everyone looked down on. The thru hikers taught me so much! I learned how to be homeless the right way. A tarp, a hammock, some rope and string to hang them, my sleeping bag, pillow, food, and homemade cooking stove could all condense into a backpack which I could bring into work without everyone knowing I was homeless. I worked hard, and stayed away from alcohol I saved my money, and got my own two bedroom apartment, completely bare except for my hammock hanging from two adjacent closet doors. Time passed, and I started piecing together my plans to travel. Before I could do anything, I made sure to redevelop a healthy relationship with my family. I became very close to my brother, his beautiful children, and my mother. At one point before that point I had gone three complete years without contacting anyone in my family. Finally, I had three good jobs, money in the bank, old debts paid, old burnt bridges rebuilt, a great family life, and lots of amazing friends. I had everything pieced back together, just for me to leave it all behind. I knew I always wanted to travel, but had never wanted to carry my negative baggage with me, which would taint the beautiful new places I would come to love. My gameplan was to sell what I owned, pack my car, and drive to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on vacation. I would immediately look for jobs, and if I found one, would stay. I chose Tennessee as the birth of my new traveling self, and wanted to follow in the footsteps of my father while I work on my art, as a means of getting to know him. Within two days I found a job waiting tables, and made $1000 cash my first seven days out of training. I immediately started painting the Old Mill in Pigeon forge, which is the oldest operating grist mill in North America. Eight days after moving to Tennessee I was on the front of the local newspaper painting the Mill. My family and friends were so happy for me, and I knew I was on the right path. I stayed in Pigeon Forge for five months, painting, photographing, and backpacking the Great Smoky Mountains every moment I wasn't working. When winter came, I knew it was time for the next phase of my journey. I would pack my car once again, and drive to Cocoa Beach for the first time since my fathers death. I painted several versions of the Cocoa Beach Pier, where my fathers ashes were spread 18 years earlier, and finally found the peace which I had sought my whole life. While painting the pier, I randomly met one of my fathers friends who was actually there at his funeral, and was able to learn things about him, which I would never had otherwise. Again, I knew I was on the right path, and at this point, had 100% faith that this would be my lifestyle from here on out, and that I would find happiness and success down this avenue. I learned to surf, explored some wild regions you would never think existed in Florida, and made friends which will last a lifetime. My father spent nine years in this town, and as much as I am a spitting image of him, I realized when the mountains started calling me, how very different we were. I had gotten my peace, and had gotten to know my father, but my journey was just starting. Now that I had knocked out my two destinations, the rest was an open book. Easter Sunday my lease was up, and instead of staying in Florida, I sold my $1000 television for $675, and with just that money, drove back to Tennessee to see the Spring arrive in the Smokies. I have been stealth camping for two weeks now, and keeping good hygiene in the process. I use a solar shower to stay clean, and the laundromats are not too far. I chose two of the six jobs that hired me my first three days, and know that I will make an abundance of money waiting tables at the places I picked. So, Spring is here, and I am ready to capture it on canvas and on my camera. Life has so much to offer if you are brave enough to search off of the beaten path!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have never couchsurfed, and feel I would have a lot to offer a host. I am clean, respectful, free of dependancies, and full of stories.

Interests

• fish
• arts
• books
• beauty
• dining
• cooking
• flying
• traveling
• painting
• fishing
• backpacking
• camping
• beaches
• mountains