Artist Bio: Blake Monson

Blake started his photographic carrier early when, by chance, he was drafted by his journalism teacher to shoot pictures for the school newspaper, while still in 8th grade. This led to a fascination with the photographic medium, and a very successful career in the visual communication industry.

Landing his first job in a commercial lab while still a Junior in high school, Blake has continued his involvement in photography to this day. With six-plus years working in commercial labs, attaining the rank of Master B&W printer, and another six years working as photographer and photographer’s assistant, he has worked along side some of the area's big name photographers throughout LA.

Blake’s photographs have appeared in the LA Times, Mix Magazine, and the LA Weekly as well as numerous other publications and catalogs. Shooting primarily in the studio, Blake’s focus was on commercial and fashion photography, but has since revised his artistic vision to include nature and travel photography as well. Blake obtained his BA in Art from CSUCI and has been working as a multimedia developer for the last ten years. This career choice allows him to keep his hand in the production of commercial photographs, digital image manipulation and the occasional videography assignment.

Recently, Blake’s photographs have featured prominently in local art shows both at the Natural History Museum in Ventura and at Studio Channel Islands. Blake is looking forward to looking forward to sharing his extensive photographic knowledge and unique vision in his new capacity as instructor at Art First! Center for the Arts.