Creativity. Connection. Community.

Hello! I grew up in Santa Cruz, CA, and have always loved creating art just for the joy of it. I’m currently on a journey toward earning a tattoo apprenticeship and turning that lifelong passion into a career.

Back around 2017-2018, my fellow CVN-76 shipmates encouraged me to consider tattooing as a career, and it became clear that it was a perfect fit for my love of art and creating things by hand. I’m excited to keep learning, practicing, and developing my skills along the way.

Thank you for taking the time to check out my work—I hope you enjoy it! :D

I am a self-taught artist. I have been practicing my skill since I was 10yr old. I work in multiple mediums in the Surrealism Style.

I have earned numerous awards ranging from local level, state and National Level as well as International levels. I have been published numerous times. I have been the Solo-Artist of art exhibitions.

After graduating high school from Thomas Jefferson High School in Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. I served as a Combat Engineer, Drafting and Surveyor Assistant, Enemy Intelligence and Reconisance NCO. I earned the rank of Sergeant within my career. I saw Combat in Desert Storm and was medically retired from injuries.

I owned and operated my own art studio in Cincinnati, Ohio before moving to Texas to care for my elderly parents. I have pieces on permanent exhibit as a Master Painter with the Miamisburg Art Gallery, Miamisburg, Ohio.

Corpus Christi, Texas

Commission work accepted

Jacob Mazurek’s life is a story of constant transition, having moved fifty times across the globe. After a childhood shaped by significant hardship, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy at eighteen, beginning a twenty-three-year career that took him from Europe and East Asia to the Middle East and throughout the United States. It was during a posting in Cornwall, UK, in 2001 that he first discovered his passion for painting. Following his retirement from military service as a Mineman Senior Chief, Jacob earned his MBA from the University of Notre Dame in 2020. Since then, his journey has led him to live and work in Northern New York, Boston, and Bulgaria.

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Jacob has displayed in the United Kingdom, Japan, Bulgaria, and in six U.S. states.  Painting nearly exclusively in coffee shops, he has been seen painting in public throughout his travels, from New Zealand to Montreal to Vienna to Dubai.

After the military I went to the University of Texas at Arlington were I graduating with a degree in Graphic Design (Advertising art at the time) I drew and painted up till the 80's when I moved to Maryland from Texas to open an art and macrame store. Went out of business after a couple of years. Moved back to Texas, got married and we started a graphic design business. In 1989 approx until present, I did not create anything until June of 2026 where I started painting again. This time I used Illustrator and Photoshop instead of building canvases. I still paint basically the same but I am able to sit down. So far I have not used anything that the software offers except brushes, color wheel along with a Digital table and a mouse. I do my sketching on a drawing pad wirth pencil.

My work blends vibrant color, rich texture, and expressive brushwork to create contemporary landscapes that evoke peace, hope, and reflection. Rather than capturing nature exactly as it appears, the paintings interpret its beauty through emotion, inviting viewers to slow down and connect with the scene on a personal level. Each piece balances bold visual impact with a sense of calm, making it equally suited as a conversation piece or a source of everyday inspiration. This is me, Nacol’s Artful Creations.