Always making something.

I’ve spent most of my life trying to figure out what I wanted to create.

Growing up on California’s Central Coast, the dream changed constantly. First as a kid I wanted to be an architect, then a yacht designer, then a video game designer. I made up skateboard brands and designed decks and dreamed of being a pro skater because what kid in the early 2000’s didn't.

As I got older, creating took on different forms. I spent years building custom woodworks, worked in the wine industry making wine, and eventually found my way behind the bar. I spent nearly a decade bartending, creating cocktail programs, opening bars, designing menus and training teams.

Looking back, the common thread was pretty simple. I’ve always wanted to make things.

Painting was something I eventually found my way back to, and for the first time it felt like I had a place to put all of those ideas.

My work is a collection of the things that have shaped me and the things I’m drawn to. California and the Central Coast, agriculture and wine country, cars, skateboarding, the American West, my Filipino heritage, friends, family, and plenty of other things I just think are sick.

Some of it comes from where I grew up. Some from nostalgia. Some from imagination. And sometimes I just have an idea that I need to see on a canvas.

I’m still figuring out where all of this goes, and I think that’s part of what I like about it. I spent a long time looking for the thing I was supposed to create.

Turns out, I just needed to start creating.

So if you’ve bought a piece, shared my work, followed along, or just saw something I made and thought it was cool, thank you. It truly means a lot to me that I get to make this stuff and that there are people out there who want to see it.

I’m excited to see where it goes.

- Josh (JP)