About

My name is Derek Traver, and I’m an artist. My father is an artist, like his mother before him. I work mostly with graphite. I enjoy reading books and occasionally a fine Bourbon whisky. Or is it the other way around?

I grew up in a small town called Lincolnton, about forty minutes west of Charlotte, North Carolina. My childhood was short of exciting I’m afraid, as our family was poor and we rarely could afford much other than what we needed. In fact I don’t remember owning a single sketch pad until I was thirty.

By the time I was in high school I was mostly an outsider, like many, who was never good at making friends or finding my way into the spotlight. Upon graduation I completed my last piece of art at school, which later that summer I destroyed.

I went on to trade school to be a mechanic, where I pursued a career in HVAC and hoped to always have the financial stability we never had growing up. I later discovered that I hated my career, and quit.

Thirteen years later I fell in love. I rekindled my love for art. I forgave my past, and myself. Today I live humbly and comfortably as a waiter. A lover of good company, a lover of people, and a lover of life.