Travis Eck is an elementary art teacher, graphic designer, and author/illustrator of children’s books who lives and works in SE Houston. Travis graduated from Oklahoma Christian University with a BFA in Advertising Design and Illustration. After working for 2 years in the Oklahoma City area, he relocated to Shreveport to marry Shelley Ragsdale, whom he had dated in college and who was at that time a student at the LSUS Medical Center. They married in February of 2005 and that summer he was hired as a graphic designer at KSM. Travis spent over 6 years as part of the KSM family and grew tremendously as an artist and as a person during this time. In 2011, work opportunities for Shelley drew the family to Houston, TX where they reside still. Travis worked for an online marketing company for 3 years in Houston before transitioning to teaching art at the local public school, where he shares his enthusiasm for creativity and love of art history with the next generation. In his spare time, Travis enjoys acrylic painting, pen and ink illustration, playing guitar, and writing/illustrating children’s books. He has published 3 books in the Otter the Auditor series and book 4 will release later this year. When it came time to choose the subject of his art piece for this Artport show, Travis remembered back to the fun he had first cheering for the Mudbugs as a fan, and then later cheering for them from the upper deck of the arena as a cameraman for the media crew. While a fan of everyone on the team, Travis’s favorite play was Dan Wildfong. Wildfong was a talented hockey player, but also a heck of a tough guy. When one of his teammates got a cheap shot from the other team, you knew Wildfong was going to get some payback. Travis got to meet Dan on the concourse of the area one day when he wasn’t playing and was struck by his kindness and willingness to chat for a moment and take a photo with a fan. Watching Dan and the Mudbugs was one of the highlights of his time in Shreveport and this painting is meant to celebrate him and the team. “I don’t paint faces very often, but I felt like it was worth the effort for this show. This may be the hardest painting I’ve painted, and I’m very proud of how it came out. I like to think of this as not a perfect likeness of Dan, but as an artist representation of him. He’s my favorite hockey player to this day.” – Travis Eck, 2025