1. I have been drawing and writing since I was a small little tyke. My influences were comics, games, and cartoons that I loved as a child, and I wrote my own stories about those characters. As I grew older and as my talents developed, my free time was focused on creating my very own dynamic characters in short stories and graphic comics. Although it seemed my artistic journey should have been a straight path, there were several obstacles that forced me to take the long road—which actually has been a blessing to my career.

1. Bea, “The Retired Tooth Fairy”, was inspired by a conversation with my daughter after she had lost another tooth. When she asked me about who collects a mommy or daddy tooth, the character just jumped out of my mind and took a breath of light with each giggle we shared. She is not an ordinary tooth fairy—so I had a lot of fun filling in her personal story. Bea is short for Beatrice (which means traveler) and is also a representation of my last initial (“B” for Bartz). She is the first fairy—that I know of—whose purpose is to collect the often neglected adult teeth. They should be the easiest teeth to collect; however, Bea always finds herself in trouble when going out on her “adventures”.
   What I love about her is her ability to keep trying no matter how difficult her situation appears. She often uses her creative problem-solving skills to get out of her messes, even though they tend to lead to even bigger obstacles. She always maintains her kindness toward others and embraces her limitations with humor and grace.

1. My ideas come from two places: life and my imagination. There are things in life that will spark the creative candle in my head and force it to burn with the brightest light possible. I have no fear of exploring concepts I have never experienced. I am an empathetic personality. I can place myself into various situations and do my best to understand the emotions that are felt. I guess it is my way to try to get a grasp about the world around me. It is actually a unique gift because it helps me visualize and feel those deep feelings as if they are happening when in fact they are not. I used to think I was weird to be able to do that until I met some other artists who have the same creative quirk.
   My imagination helps me to explore things that are not of this world. These are the ideas that explode from the “what ifs” or “why nots”. I love twists on things or to make something up that no one has ever seen or heard. My sketchbooks are filled with all kinds of different things—from space beings to magical creatures and strange worlds. I love Surrealism—think Salvador Dali—because it emphasizes moving beyond that creative box and exploring the outermost depths of the imagination. I try not to limit where my ideas take me. Art has no boundaries.

1. I have grown immensely throughout the years. I love taking a look at my older drawings and writings. They remind me how much I have learned and how far I have come. I mean I went from stick figures to photorealistic and graphic art. My writings went from flat plotlines to fully dynamic worlds full of complex characters. It has been a magnificent transformation thus far and I know I still have more to room to expand my creative wings. I love learning, so I spend a lot of my free time researching and trying new techniques to push myself as an artist and to expand my craft. I look forward to seeing where my art will take me in five, ten, and twenty more years.

1. I read a lot! Between educational, entertainment, and books I receive for reviews, I probably read several books a week. My favorite authors are Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and R.L. Stein. Even though they are a different genre, I really admire the talent they possess. I love Stephen King’s descriptions, Dean Koontz’ plot twists, and R.L. Stein’s versatility.

1. I would have loved to been the author of Bunnicula! It was just a genius idea. For those of you not familiar with this book, it is about a vampire bunny who drains the juice from vegetables. It was written through the point of view of the house pets and was a delight to read. It was one of my many influences when I was younger and helped spark my love of reading and writing.

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