In 1993 I started at VCU School of the Arts, and my long love affair with Richmond began. I played in bands, worked in restaurants, and ran wild until I finally graduated with an art history degree (painting minor) sometime around 2000. I moved back to my hometown of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and worked for an amazing weekly art magazine, Pasatiempo, as the art calendar editor and assistant to the editor. The Richmond curse is real, and RVA pulled me back. Wanting to feed VCU students the flavors I grew up eating, I opened a taco cart called Nate’s Taco Truck on campus. That turned into a take-out spot on 2nd Street called Nate’s Taco Truck Stop. That turned into a restaurant called Don’t Look Back. I’ve recently tried to squish all my passions into one big ball of art. Observational paintings, sketches, and drawings of Richmond and food. I use watercolor and ink, and paint on site. There’s an urgency to the process that’s exciting. I’ve found painting and cooking are very similar as far as time and ingredients. I’m particularly drawn to water towers poking up from the tree lines and rooftops, taunting me with their tallness.