About

I'm Callan — an oil painter and IT professional based in Austin, TX.

I spent the last decade building infrastructure and managing platforms at a financial services firm in New York, and I've been making art for as long as I can remember. This site is where both halves live.

The art

I paint in oils — mostly scenes, objects, and moments that stick with me. Urban storefronts at night, windows full of plants, a rainy street, an N64 setup from 1998. I'm drawn to light, texture, and the way everyday things can feel specific and universal at the same time.

I shared my full art journey on Twitter — from childhood self-portraits in 1996 to where I am now. It's been a winding road.

I take commissions and love painting things that are meaningful to people. If you're interested, check out the commissions page.

The tech

I'm a Platform and Infrastructure Engineer with 10 years of experience. I built and managed the macOS endpoint platform at BAM Mutual from scratch — zero-touch deployment, compliance automation, identity management, the whole thing. I've worked across AWS, Microsoft 365, SIEM monitoring, and cybersecurity compliance (NYDFS).

I'm an active AI adopter — I use Claude and Claude Code daily for scripting, automation, and building things like this website. I'm also into homelabs, self-hosting, and tinkering with Raspberry Pis.

You can see my full background on the résumé page.

The rest

2025 was a profoundly transformative year for me. I left my job, went through some major life changes, and came out the other side with a much clearer sense of who I am and what I want. I moved to Austin, started painting seriously again, and found the person I want to spend my life with.

I write about all of this — art, tech, life — on Twitter (@callanable) and on my blog.