About me, for what it's worth.

My name is David C. Dawson and I am a web designer, illustrator, graphic designer and photographer. I am a native of Massachusetts and currently live in Medford, a suburb of Boston.

I'm a biker and have tattoos. I like to ride almost more than i like to do anything else except making art.

I cannot remember a time when art was not a part of my life. I drew pictures early and constantly as a means of entertainment and as a way to express myself. I was an avid comic book and sci-fi enthusiast from an early age and my artwork reflected the worlds of fantasy and chivalry in the stories I devoured. Early artistic influences were comic artists and in particular Frank Frazetta.

I attended the Massachusetts College of Art and earned a Bachelors of Fine Art with a concentration in communication arts. I primarily studied illustration but took quite a few graphic design courses as well.

After graduation I got involved with a start-up rock magazine called Lollipop and it was all downhill from there. I dove in head first, learned Quark Xpress and PhotoShop on a computer rented on a friends credit card. We slogged throught the first issue in a blistering six months but I was hooked. I loved the work and loved being able to walk up to a club and have them know who I was and let me in for free. The money was non existant but hell the Middle East paid for their ad in trade so we could choke down all the chicken wraps we could stand. I lasted through the first three issues and left to work a corporate graphic design job. Hated it, I mean really hated it. I was miserable working 9-5 and after three years left to bild a free-lance business. I had landed my first web design job for a big venture capitol firm and I had some promising leads for other work. I took a leap of faith and landed flat on my ass.

About this time I happened to do a web search for Lollipop Magazine and found out they had a REALLY crappy website. I called the publisher up and bragged how I was the shit when it came to designing websites, I mean hadn't I already done two entire sites including my own?

I got back involved with Lollipop. Redesigned the website and started doing illustrations. Over the next few years we continually added new content to the site and new features and added archival stuff as well. The magazine downsized and became quarterly and I took over most and eventually all of the design and layout duties. As I am writing this the site has grown to over 5,000 reviews, we have over 10,000 live band photos and tons of model pics. Issue 70 is off to the printer and the future... Well the future is the future.

During the whole span of my involvement with Lollipop, there has never been a steady paycheck so I have always done tons of freelance work. I have worked for a really diverse range of clients from ClearChannel to the International Catacomb Society. I've designed logos, van wraps, tshirts, stage scrims and everything in between.

Recently, I got really into photography. What started out as a hobby has really become a passion. I started doing tshirt sets for Lollipop and some fashion sets.I really enjoy the interaction with the subject and getting out and shooting in interesting locations. Now I try to do a shoot a week and enjoy photographing girls with hot rods and motorcycles. Through photography I became very good friends with a woman who started a promotional modeling company called the Whiskey Girls and have done a bunch of stuff with them including event photography and I even did a whole calendar. My work has appeared, so far, in Lollipop Magazine, Classic Rock Magazine, Tattooed Hotties Magazine as well as numerous websites.

More to come...