Art was always around me growing up. My father Donald Olson is a multi-talented wildlife artist whose skills and insight have greatly influenced me over the years. My other great influences have been John Dewey, Thomas Jefferson, Carl Sagan, Bruce Lee and Michael Jordan.

I've spent most of my adult life working as a freelance writer, photographer and web developer. I spent three years as a staff writer for the Columbus Messenger Newspapers. Since then I have been developing database-driven web applications.

When I try to describe myself, phrases like "jack-of-all-trades" and "inquisitive" come to mind. Trying to learn something creative and new everyday is one of my little quirks... as is trying to teach something to others.

I am the father of five kids.

My professional experience includes journalism, photography, web design, graphic design and web programming. I am the owner of the Artistic Network and creator of Webonizer. While I do consider myself to be artistic, my technical art skills pale in comparison to most of the artists on the Artistic Network. Still, I strive to improve my abilities at artistic expression.

If asked what my most important characteristics are, my answer would be as follows: I am very diverse in interest and understanding, and I have a well-refined ability to bring together seemingly unconnected fields to find solutions and innovations. I am naturally skeptical, analytical and inquisitive.

My mission in life is to to learn as much as I can in the time I have; to raise warm and intelligent children; to leave something of value for this world that wasn't there before I came along.

My Professional Skills

Web Development

The majority of my work since 2003 has been web development. I have experience in every facet of web development, from the back end to the front end. A list of specific skills:

• XHTML
• CSS
• JavaScript
• Flash
• Flex
• ActionScript
• PHP
• MySQL
• Web Graphics

Journalism

I was a beat reporter for a few years. My articles have appeared in magazines and newspapers in the Ohio region.

Photography

I have been photographing my entire adult life. I started on 35mm but moved to digital cameras in 2001. My photos have appeared in newspapers, magazines and college textbooks. I shoot with a Canon 30D and Canon 10D.

Other Skills

3D Generalist

I have been dabbling in 3D since around 1998. I've built several maps for the game Counter-Strike and now focus on building levels and models for Counter-Strike Source. Some of the software I've become expert in include:

• 3ds Max (modeling, animating, scripting)
• Mudbox
• Hammer

Cartooning

Although I've been paid for a few cartoons, I don't consider it a professional skill yet since it isn't something I've done much of for money. But I am very good at it and intend on honing that skill more as I go on in life.