The main difference between commissioned work and work I do for myself is that if I'm doing for myself, I don't have to worry about sticking to an art description or working for a specific audience or project.

I was always interested in drawing and creating, but it never really occurred to me that I could pursue art as my profession until my mid twenties. From all I had heard from other people, art was just something you do as a hobby in between your real work and real jobs.

The recognition definitely helps and goes a long way for helping me to reaffirm my decision to purse art fulltime. Getting awards and nominations encourages me to keep trying even harder.

I think traditional media is vitally important, I think there are a lot of benefits to working in traditional media, and I enjoy doing working with real paint when I get the chance.

I personally prefer working digitally because it allows me to work quickly and cleanly. I don't have to buy paint or brushes or canvases, I don't have to wait for paintings to dry before sending them to clients, I don't have to photograph or scan my final work, and I can make edits immediately and easily.

I think digital media is a valid tool, one that has it's own strengths and weaknesses. So often I see people dismissing digital art as somehow cheating or not as valid or important as traditional art, but the computer is just another tool.

I spent much of my college life prepping for other careers, but I was always drawing and painting whenever I had free time. Eventually, thanks to the internet, I started noticing that there were such things as art schools, and professional artists, and people making a living doing a variety of types of art.