With the window open and the sound of “Blues on the Bridge” intertwined with the breeze I would sit at my desk and sketch floor plans for my dream home. This was an oft repeated ritual of mine; drawing at night with my window open and enjoying some form of jazz music. From 2003 to 2012 I lived in Binghamton, NY as my parents served in full-time ministry and it was during these years that I developed a deep love for sketching as well as an interest in architecture. For an introvert, drawing was a great way to unwind at the end of a day filled with school and soccer.

• 2003-2012: Always sketching
• 2012-2017: Studying architecture
• 2019: BibleSketches Begins
• 2024: BibleSketches Full-time

Drawing in the White Margins

I would also doodle and draw in the white margins of all my school papers, sometimes planes, homes, floorplans, people, little cartoons, I couldn’t stop. Reading Calvin and Hobbes as a kid certainly influenced my drawing technique since Watterson often inserted commercial airliners, jet fighters, city skylines, and landscapes into his famous comic—the types of things I wanted to draw. In school I guess I had the ability—and others may have also experienced the phenomenon—of being able to retain information better while creating art – a sort of muscle function that helps the mind relax and absorb audible information better.

Fast forward to graduation, it became clear that studying architecture was the next step for me due to my love for design and keen mathematical ability. But where would I attend? Well, an architect who worked for the Binghamton city department told my mom that I should attend Virginia Tech since they had a 'top undergrad program' for architecture. Once I visited the stunning campus in Blacksburg, VA I knew that was where I wanted to go.

College Architecture

During my time in Tech’s architectural program (2012-2017) we were taught new techniques for sketching, modeling, but also a lot of graphic design. To present a project well we needed to become seasoned designers experienced in the classic Adobe products. Everything in those five years was right up my alley, yet there was a piece missing in all of it.

My faith in Jesus Christ meant more than anything architectural or design related. In fact, anyone who has been in an arts program or design degree can probably remember this aura from the people and professionals that demanded a submission of our lives unto the work. There was a sort of glorification of the arts and its supposed unmatched impact on society. My thought was, “My life is submitted to Christ, you can’t have it.”

Naturally, I went into full-time ministry when I graduated college, not because architecture wouldn’t have been a great field but because it’s where God was leading me. Funnily enough I know several Christians who have come out of VT’s architecture program only to go straight into ministry. Anyway, during those years after college I continued sketching floor plans and homes—with much more knowledge—as I often did just to unwind, and my location of choice was usually Starbucks. Then one day for whatever reason it dawned on me, “Why am I not sketching stories from the Bible?”

The Adventure Begins

Immediately I retooled a side Instagram account I had called “MinecraftArchitects” and changed it to “BibleSketches.” The adventure thus began in early 2019. 

The first BibleSketches I thought to try were usually architecturally related. My first was the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refusing to kneel before Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue. The sketch was terrible, mainly because I botched the statue, but it was a blast to make. Some hidden lightbulb lit up in my soul as two joys (the Bible and sketching) were brought together in a way that my brain hadn’t thought of before—for whatever reason.

The ideas kept coming and I kept posting to Instagram. People began asking how to purchase the Bible wall art but I was focused on marrying my wife and moving to DC to continue in full-time ministry at a new location. I had no time or interest in printing art for people and shipping it. 

Etsy - Bible Wall Art

Thankfully, I found that Etsy allowed shops to sell digital products or files which was a great compromise. People could pay less for the art since it would be DIY style printing, and I didn’t have to do anything except occasionally upload some files and handle minimal customer service.

Being present on Etsy grew BibleSketches visibility a bit but it was still just a fun hobby. Years later, in 2022, Hannah had expressed a desire to change her job and so my mind started turning. One morning on the way to a staff meeting I was waiting at a red light thinking, “What could Hannah do?” Then it dawned on me that she could run the BibleSketches Etsy account.

It was a risk since there wasn’t much income from it, but it did seem to be growing ever so slightly. At this point the @biblesketches Instagram had morphed more into a theological account that showcased slideshow graphic presentations of diagrammatic content. Therefore, Hannah created the Instagram @shopbiblesketches and was off to the races trying her hand at social media marketing for our small side-business. She clearly did an amazing job.

I’m writing this on September 17th, 2024, and now we both work full-time on the business and have our own official Shopify Store. BibleSketches has truly grown into something we both never imagined. From our point of view God orchestrated the whole thing piece by piece over the years and brought something to us that we never expected. Now, on top of offering our classic Digital Prints—which began the whole adventure—we also offer Posters, Canvases, Framed prints, T-shirts, and Tote bags as well.

Our hope and prayer is that the artwork glorifies God and that it enables me to make more gospel-related content online that points people to Christ.