I was planning to be a full time freelance welder while I was an assistant landscaper/fine artist. I have had a few professional art shows and got a request to return for another interview from a Chicago gallery. I never went back to Chicago, though.

As I mention in my photos I teach art at our Juvenile Center for young offenders and draw pictures for them. One of my sets covers that.

Describing basic human nature has been interest of mine and many of my paintings record my thoughts. Many are illustrations which means they are not just exploring form and color as painting so often does. I try to look at people a little deeper than a lot of people otherwise would. By creating an illustration, long complex explanations are not needed for an introduction to my ideas. I prefer to show a positive view and have tagged four of the illustrations with "softened heart" (including the quotation marks). The ideas in them work together. I would like to make a separate set of those but I already have the three that is my limit. Often times people try to change other people by harshly criticizing people's morality. I prefer only a description of improving situations or just a neutral description. I have training in science too, so I prefer observing without injecting myself into the situation, a cardinal rule of scientific observation.

Initially I started welding to fix the landscaping equipment. My employer died unexpectedly at 51 from ALS--Lou Gehrig's disease. Since that disease lingers and he knew it was terminal, he sold me the landscape business before he died. I have gotten extremely busy with landscaping. I work many months for seven days a week, often until after dark. Now I build things in the off season to make that job easier but still advertise myself to my customers as a metal repair person. Some of the things I build because I have gotten a vital part or parts for free or low cost. Also I may want something but would not want it bad enough to pay the full price for it. I am building an earth sheltered house and the hole I dug for it is in the background of some of my pictures. This is one with the hole in the background: flickr.com/photos/kklos/2156375117/ I will document my progress with pictures later.