Hey, SodakArtist here.
I’m a self-taught multidisciplinary artist, photographer, author, and professional rabbit-hole explorer. I create because my mind refuses to stay inside one medium—or one dimension—for very long. That is also why SoDakArtist Way, better known as SDAW, is more than an art portfolio or blog.
For most of my life, none of this was part of the plan. I worked construction from sixteen until thirty-two and only drew occasionally when someone asked me to. That changed when I was thirty, living in a motel room and trying to keep myself away from the darker corners of my own mind. I picked up a pencil, started teaching myself through tutorials, and discovered that creating gave all that energy somewhere useful to go. After throwing out my back and leaving construction, I stopped squeezing art into the edges of my life and decided to see what would happen if I finally gave it everything I had.
That pencil drawing eventually exploded into graphite, colored pencils, painting, paint pours, photography, digital art, woodworking, epoxy, tattoo design, music beats, and whatever else makes me wonder, “What could I create with that?” I now work as a photographer at Woody’s Wild West Photography and somehow still lose all sense of time whenever I get pulled into a project. I am also the self-published author of Arcane Chronicles: Exploring the Multiverse, the first book in a larger series. Apparently, choosing one creative direction was never going to happen—and honestly, I’m good with that.
SDAW is where all those different sides of me collide. Here you will find artwork, photography, books, personal stories, creative experiments, philosophical questions, spiritual exploration, and the occasional trip so far down the rabbit hole that we may need directions back. My blog and podcast, SoDakArtist’s Way: Stories, Ideas & Creation, turn many of those ideas into written, audio, and video experiences. I do not claim to have every answer, but I will always question, learn, create, and remain willing to change when I discover something deeper.
Thank you for spending some of your time here. Look around, read something, listen to an episode, explore the art, and let me know what you honestly think. Good criticism helps me grow, although I’m naturally still hoping it is good criticism. Most of all, I hope something within SDAW makes you feel, question, imagine, or create something of your own.
Thanks a million
SodakArtist
