Portfolio

Single-Page

Sometimes all you need is one simple page with basic information and a contact form. I can set that up for you.

WordPress

I can create a website that you can add content to using a management platform such as Squarespace or WordPress.

Hand-Coded

I have extensive experience creating and managing complex database driven websites.

Pen and Paper

My foundations in art are solidly laid in with hundreds of hours drawing what I see not what I know. I learned the fundamentals of form, line, shape, texture, composition, perspective and color theory, followed a period of abstraction and non-objective art – which I found to be most challenging. These early lessons became indispensable for all my creative work.

Most of my ideas start out on paper. I jokingly labelled my clipboard my 'eye-pad' and have a hard time not making jokes about how much storage space it has and how responsive it is.

Illustrator

I learned Adobe Illustrator in 1989 and have been using it extensively since - It's not the first computer program I learned to use, but it is the first application I learned to use involving a mouse. Not only is it great for web and print design, but it can also be used as a blueprint for one-off projects.

Illustrator is my favorite design tool, but lately I have become interested in Inkscape - mostly to es-cape the Adobe subscription trap, and to migrate further away from Windows.

If you are new to design tools, take my advice and work at actual scale and proportions.

Photoshop

PS and I go way back - I have a deep understanding and technical prowess with Adobe Photoshop, including image processing, bitmap work, and other image editing needs such as creating print-ready images of products that may or may not exist yet.

Often is the third stage of design after pen-and-paper and Illustrator, such adding realistic graphics onto a bare titanium bicycle frame. The Illustrator file is overlaid onto the studio photograph, with additional highlight and shadow layers at varying transparencies to help blend. It's fun to do.

InDesign

I've produced hundreds of print designs with Adobe InDesign, spanning over thirty years of professional and personal page publications. Anyone remember Aldus PageMaker on floppy?

InDesign is great for zines, booklets, and multi-page PDFs and print material.

Without good designs and images InDesign can be boring - for me, you, and the client. Seldom do I use it alone. I also like to think of myself as a decent writer and copy-editor: do you find my writing compelling?

TIG Welder

Precisely melting metal with a hand-held lightning bolt is as gratifying as it sounds, and has become an integral part of my DIY identity and lifestyle. I've welded more than one vintage Ferrari Dino chassis, aircraft carrier landing hooks, BattleBots, race cars, hundreds of sculptures, hundreds of trophies, and hundreds of custom titanium bicycle frames. I am interested in helping makers with creative projects who could use some help.

I can weld most steels including stainless. I specialize in titanium. I love welding copper and bronze. I do not enjoy that 'false metal' known as aluminum. As far as I'm concerned brass is not weldable.

My Brain

Yes, I typically use my brain for most projects. However in the new era of artificial intelligence, real brains are now optional, so now having a good brain is noteworthy. Human talent gives real wisdom and can help avoid pitfalls that AI will chirpily encourage. AI is a powerful tool and a tempting substitute for real thinking. I use it to learn new ways of coding. I don't use it to write copy or handle anything creative. In fact auto-suggest is a tool to understand how not to waste words: if AI thinks anticipates what I'm about to type, I rethink the message because it's not meaningful .