“The role of an artist,” said Buddy, “requires passion and creativity, but also being open-minded, taking criticism, and adjusting to the needs or wants of others. Artists open the minds of others, start conversations, mold minds, and push limits, but give society beautiful things to see every day.”

Early Days

An Arkansas native, Buddy was initially inspired to be a nurse when there was a nursing shortage. He was in the process of completing a degree in biology when he realized that he enjoyed working around people. So he changed his degree to nursing and earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. “There are so many things you can do with a nursing degree,” said Buddy, “I felt like it would be a good career with so many possibilities.”

Buddy discovered his artistic talents at an early age. “I’ve been doing creative things since I was a kid,” he said. “I grew up in a small town in the country where you had to be creative to fight boredom. I loved being crafty and painting and started doing things like that in high school. That eventually led to painting for income. I would paint children’s murals for extra money during nursing school.”

While in nursing school, Buddy was taught by an open-minded clinical instructor who encouraged him to explore mental health nursing at a veteran’s affairs hospital. Although Buddy planned to work with youth, working with the adults was his favorite rotation.