About

“I use all mediums in my art. I have no rules. No agenda.  No formal training. Just a creative spirit and feeling that all art forms communicate on a level well beyond simply what we see and hear.”
                                
Aaron has always had a desire to communicate that, which words cannot contain and his path in life is a testimony to that.  He was born in 1975 in Terre Haute, Indiana but spent the majority of his childhood and adolescence in the Atlanta Metro area. Poetry was the initial spark which ignited his artistic development.  Focusing on writing through his late adolescence and early collegiate years he knew he needed a more comprehensive way to express himself, and thus enrolled in Georgia State’s film school. After graduating from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Video Aaron experienced a spiritual  “Awakening” which lead him to studying contemplation/meditation as well as all forms of sacred texts and scripture. According to Aaron this was the most important step in his development as an Artist because whether it is evident or not on the surface, it is the foundation of all his work in one way or another.

“I met god while traveling in my car on I-75 outside Atlanta while in college.  There were no words exchanged, just a feeling of overwhelming love and compassion that could crush the world with a single breath. I find that through my creativity I feel most kindred to the transcendence of that moment and the transcendence present in every moment.  Being creative helps me identify with, and partake in, the activity of the creator.”  

He enrolled for one year working towards a Masters of Divinity at Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina where he soon realized creativity was his truest gift and began constructing a life in accordance with that realization. He left at the end of his first year and moved to Maui as he described it, “to further know myself in a tranquil environment as well as expand on the true nature of my gifts.”

After living in Maui for a year he decided it was time to begin the process of finding his place in the world. He picked back up behind the camera working in the film/tv industry in California where one of his major highlights included producing/directing a KCCE TV special on Woody Harrelson’s S.O.L. (Simple Organic Living) Tour that aired in San Louis Obispo, California. As he continued to grow and work more in the film industry in California the urge to expand artistically began to stir yet again. 

 “Film was not a sufficient vehicle to communicate certain feelings and realities I was experiencing at the time, and after a revelation on a cross country road trip in my late twenties I felt compelled to explore music as my next creative endeavor.” 

 

From this seed, and six years down the road, The Romenz were born.  Aaron helmed the Atlanta based band in which he was the primary singer/songwriter, as well as bass player. The Romenz put a strong dent in the Atlanta Indie Rock scene while sharing the stage with artists such as, Ed Roland of Collective Soul, as well as being selected to play a BMI Indie Rock Showcase at Terminal West in Atlanta. After some time, there was still an itch that wouldn’t go away, a force pulling forward toward more artistic development and it was that itch that would usher in the next piece to Aaron’s creative journey which was the beginning of a career in Fine Art. 

“Being someone who was always attracted to outsiders as well as people often with no specific training who ultimately forged their own path in life, Art proved to be a natural fit.” 

Mixed Media and the freedom/absence of structure that can be utilized in that process provided the perfect storm for Aaron’s variety of creative urges and incessant need to evolve artistically. Aaron began exploring the use of resin in many of  his works to create depth as all as unify otherwise disparate mediums.

"I was drawn to using resin because of the depth it can create in a piece; being a person who is drawn to contemplation and other forms of communication that translate "from deep to deep" it seemed resin helped unlock that expression within my art. My working process in resin based works relies heavily on layering and the power of non-thinking. I really only think about the color palette I am using before I start a piece and much of that decision is based on what feelings I am experiencing in my life during that time period or moment.”