The Geek

Mike started with computers in 1980 with a Heathkit computer that was housed in a wooden enclosure he had built. With a tape drive and a 12” black and white TV, he was ready! Mike then upgraded to a Vic-20 followed by a Commodore 64. He spent a lot of time programming in BASIC and machine language which he used to build programs and games (including an awesome Star Wars trench game) and of course some hacking. Mike sold computers in high school and didn’t come back to them until 1994 when he worked with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) in tech support and web design. Mike is currently working with health researchers building sites and apps in one of Canada’s largest research hospitals.

The Artist, Writer and Creative

Mike is also a self-taught artist. He loves art and more specifically drawing with graphite and ink. He was convinced even at a very young age that art was his passion having written in a grade school yearbook when he was 5 that he wanted to be artist.

He started with some Tom & Jerry fan art when he was 11 or 12 but it never went anywhere until college when he started into drafting as part of the mechanical engineering program. It was in that course that he was reminded of his love for drawing but now with a much more technical flavour.

It wasn’t until 2005 that he did his first graphite piece. He has been working with graphite pencil ever since and more recently, digital on the iPad Pro.

He loves creating, whether it be programming, design, art or writing (yes, working on two novels and a short story). Drawing serves as a meditative experience as the focus helps to slow down the world to only but a few pen or pencil strokes. He enjoys sharing his art at various stages through his posts on Instagram and on his website with the hope that it can inspire others. Mike has presented at local schools on how to draw with pencil and is working on some beginner courses on drawing. He also completed Inktober in 2018 and 2019.