Artist + Naturalist + Map Nerd + Lighthouse Lover

For as long as I can remember, my life has been guided by art and the natural world. Growing up in the rural farm country of southeastern Wisconsin, I reveled in the forests and creeks around my home and drew whatever I found — insects, plants, skulls. So it’s no surprise that much of my life has been focused in these two worlds, in one way or another.

For instance, my love of animals initially led me to study biology and ornithology in college, which later led to zookeeping jobs at various zoos. I was a devoted wildlife artist as well, and had two solo exhibitions of my work. My love of art, in turn, prompted a career change to graphic design in 2004, and soon after I landed a dream job as an art director for a books and magazine publisher. In 2011, I launched a pet portrait business, and later founded Maps by Scott, a freelance cartography business serving clients from all over the world. Combining my experience in zoos and a passion for design, I launched ZooGraphix, a place where I design to foster appreciation of nature and meaningful change.

I try to approach my craft with integrity, purpose and respect — for both the audience and the subject. It is my goal to instill a sense of joy and wonder into every project. Nature always factor into my work in one way or another, as I am an ardent advocate for wildlife conservation and education. I am endlessly captivated by the interconnectedness of all living things. The power of art and design to communicate messages, and emotions, is something I am always exploring. I thoroughly enjoy the process of discovery, you never know where it will lead.

When I’m not in my studio I’ll be probably be outside reading, or hiking or biking looking for birds or exploring lighthouses.

I invite you to browse through my work here, and also on my other sites. If you’d like to work together on a project, please share some information with me here.

---