As a kid in Chicago, Deacon and his friends often enjoyed hanging out by the train tracks.  The parallel steel lines functioned as balance beams to kill the boredom of summer.  Other times they became an exhilarating mode of transportation.  The crew would leap onto the boxcars as they passed, evading the depot security.  They rode no further than the distance they wanted to walk home. 

 

In the winter they sled down the side of a local overpass with found objects.  The most effective tools were discarded hub caps and car mats. They never thought about the traffic at the top.  Their only determination was racing down the snow-covered slope that ended abruptly by flying off a curb at the bottom.

 

At the age of nine, Deacon moved to Florida.  He left the trains, hub caps, and car mats behind.  They were traded for a new adrenaline-charged activity, skateboarding. With its demanding physicality and required mental focus, Deacon was led to new ways of creative thinking and viewing the landscape around him.  A curb, ledge, or embankment was no longer a passive concrete structure. They became obstacles to be reckoned with and puzzles to be solved. This was accompanied with an introduction to art through the vast creative graphics found on skateboards.  They remain amazing reflections of this subculture. Ultimately, skateboarding became a vehicle and way of thinking that led Deacon to dedicating his life to art.

 

He has been fortunate to lead a creative career that has included teaching, illustration, production art, project management, and exhibit design.

 

Deacon’s work has been displayed in several galleries and institutions including, The Dali Museum, the Polk Museum of Art, and the Cade Museum.  His work is also included in the Tampa Museum’s Contemporary Art Collection.

 

Currently, Deacon lives with his wife and daughter in North Central Florida, navigating the humidity and uncertainty of our times.