TYLER JENSEN is a lifelong outdoor enthusiast and his love of wildlife and American frontier come forth with unique expression in his drawings. Growing up on a small lake near Seattle, Washington, Tyler spent many a day fishing, camping and exploring the woods and waters around his home. But his first love was always drawing. The son of an award-winning taxidermist, Tyler regularly studied animal anatomy books and specimens in his father's studio gallery, then recreated them in his own world with pencil, watercolor or charcoal. Mastering one's art form is an ever-learning process, in Tyler's opinion, and he continues to study all facets of natural design and history. An accomplished artist early on, Tyler was just thirteen when his wildlife awareness piece Race For Survival caught the attention of world-renowned bowhunter icon Glenn St. Charles. The illustration was later published in his biography Bows on the Little Delta. While attending the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University, Tyler became a political cartoonist for his college newspaper The Daily Evergreen. Shedding humor on sensitive political issues regularly created a stir amongst his higher learning peers. Good or bad however, readership was up and he was asked to return to the paper each fall. Tyler holds a bachelors degree in advertising from WSU and a certificate in screenwriting from The New York Film Academy (Los Angeles). He attributes the bulk of his influences to master storymen and cartoonists Walt Disney, Bill Peet and Marc Davis. Today, Tyler Jensen's freelance and commission work can be seen in all forms of media, galleries and festivals across WA, OR, ID and CA. He currently resides in Washington State and when not drawing in his studio, enjoys hiking, fishing, scuba diving, skiing and exploring his beloved Pacific Northwest for creative spur.

ARTIST STATEMENT

As an artist with an appreciation for comedic story both light and dark, my direction is to capture an altered state of the old west in a modern digital medium. A strange frontier (see how I played the title in there?) we may see if we ventured into the past and wilderness with an expansive imagination. Most of my subject ideas germinate from countless hours researching and exploring around the Pacific Northwest. I draw what I’d like to see had I been a fly on the wall in a bristling mountain logging camp or a bird on a knotty old pine branch. Working mainly digital with a stylus, my work originally begins as a small thumbnail "doodle" jotted down quickly on anything available. From there, various poses and layouts are sketched (or acted) until I like one that fits best taking into account things like balance, figure placement, anatomy and wardrobe. Next it is fleshed out in pencil and finished in India ink, then scanned and colored using digital brushes and various "wash" techniques added in layers.