I spent most of my life enjoying art while also convinced I wasn’t any good at it. Mostly because my art teachers in school were never impressed by what I created and didn’t spend a lot of time nurturing what gift I had. Considering that K-12 art classes are often considered dumping ground electives by overworked counselors trying to find somewhere for pain-in-the-ass-kid-number-45 to go during 3rd period, I get it. Art classes are hard to teach. In college, they wouldn’t let me take art classes because I wasn’t an art major so I settled into a life where art was a hobby… Cartography is also a love and a hobby of mine. <3

Until my friends began looking at my art. They convinced me that I was actually good at painting/drawing, so I worked at it, improved a ton, and eventually shifted from art as a hobby to art as a career, something to sit alongside my writing.

You can check out my artwork over at:  The Art of Raven Oak

Other relevant links:

Store for autographed art prints:  www.theartofravenoak.com

Store for t-shirts, rugs, & other stuff featuring my artwork:  ravenoak.threadless.com