About Pen
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Pen Bxtr currently is a college student at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, where he is studying Italian Studies and Studio Arts.
Pen won his first art contest in middle school, and he wrote and produced his first short film in 2009, Missy's Big Decision (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09Agu-K9J0U), at the age of six. In October 2020, he was part of a group of talented high school students who were asked to paint a mural using characters from Mike Bennett's A to Zoo collection. In May of 2021, he completed a large mural on his own at the public pool bath house in Selinsgrove, PA, as well as a small mural in the art wing of Selinsgrove Area High School. During the 2021-22 school year, Pen took a gap year to travel to Asia and to study graphic art and design. Pen has completed internship with the Narnia Festival (in Narni, Italy), the Connecticut Secretary of State's office, and the CT Old State House, and he has taught Digital Animation courses with CalArts (Calibraska) and MeshEd. Pen is actively involved in the Hartford community, volunteering his time at The Bushnell Theater for Performing Arts and Out Film CT as well as doing pro-bono graphic design work for local nonprofits. During the fall of 2024, Pen studied Italian Studies and Art at Trinity College's Rome extension campus. He also completed a semester-long internship at a gelateria in the city. |
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Artist Resume
Commissioned Artist • Self-Employed • 2020 - present
• The Odds (comic series), commissioned through a grant from the Department of Mental Health and
Addiction Services (DMHAS) and the Cultural Coalition (July 2025 - present)
• Firenze II (door mural, acrylic on metal) for Regency Towers (Mezzanine Floor), Hartford, CT (Jun 2023)
• Haring (mural, acrylic on cinder block) for patron, Hartford, CT (Feb 2023)
• Firenze I (door mural, acrylic on metal) for private patron, Hartford, CT (Jan 2023)
• We are the Future (colored pencils on sketch paper), winner of the sketch design contest for the Rape &
Domestic Abuse Prevention (RDAP) organization, (Jun 2022)
• Alice (acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24") for patron, Alameda, CA (Nov 2021)
• Firenze (acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24") for patron, Selinsgrove, PA (Oct 2021)
• Eiffel II (mural, acrylic on cinder block), Selinsgrove Area High School, Selinsgrove, PA (May 2021)
• The Southern Ocean (mural, acrylic on cinder block, section seven of the Seven Seas murals for
Selinsgrove Area Pool Bath House), Selinsgrove, PA (May 2021)
• Eiffel (acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24") for patron, Selinsgrove, PA (Mar 2021)
• Sail II (acrylic on canvas, 18 x 24") for patron, Lewisburg, PA (Feb 2021)
• Snoopy & Woodstock (acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24") for patron, Sunbury, PA (Jan 2021)
• Sail I (acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24") for patron, Mount Laurel, NJ (Nov 2020)
• The Narwhal, Dugong, and Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (mural, acrylic on cinder block) for Selinsgrove
START, Selinsgrove, PA (Oct 2020)
• BLM/LGBTQ (acrylic on canvas, 18 x 24") (Jun 2020)
• The Bunny Trail (pencil on paper, 11" x 8.5") Sketch located on inside cover of DJ Tombe's book series,
The Bunny Trail (The Bunny Trail, Thou Wilt Go Now, Rabbit, and I Go With Thee) (2021, 2023,
2025)
Additional Experience
Creator and Artistic Director • The Odds • August 2025 — present
Italian Language Tutor • Trinity College Blume Language Lab • August 2025 — present
Outreach & Marketing Coordinator • Narnia Festival (Narni, Italy) • June — August 2025
Outreach and Engagement Graphic Design Intern • Office of the Connecticut Secretary of the State •
Jan — June 2025
International Customer Service Representative • Gelateria Fior di Luna (Rome, Italy) • Sept — Dec 2024
Educational Summer Enrichment Teacher • MeshEd • June — August 2024
Summer Intern • Connecticut Old State House • June — August 2023
Digital Animation Teacher • CalArts (Calibraska) • June — July 2022
Contributing Writer and Co-Editor • Nerdz Newz • August 2020 — Dec 2023 • nerdz-newz.com
Project Lead • Student/Teen Artist Resource Team (START) • May 2020 — February 2023
Honors & Achievements
Fulbright ETA Semi-Finalist • Fulbright Association, U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs • January 2026
Community Learning Research Fellow • Trinity College Center for Hartford Engagement & Research (CHER)
• Fall 2025 • Research conducted for HEDCO, Hartford, CT
Catalyst Summer Internship Fund Recipient • Trinity College • Summer 2025 • Awarded to support
summer internship at the Narnia Festival, Narni, Italy
Samual Barbin Coco Scholarship Recipient • Trinity College • April 2024 • Awarded at Trinity
College's Honors Day 2024
Faculty Honors Recipient • Trinity College • Awarded Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025,
Fall 2025
Capital Community College / Trinity College Liberal Arts Action Lab Participant • Constitution Plaza,
Hartford, CT • Fall 2023
Community Involvement
Volunteer Graphic Designer & Photographer • 2020 - present
Media & Communications Committee Member • Out Film CT • 2023 - present
Volunteer Junior Usher • The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts • 2023 - present
Set Strike & Usher • Playhouse on Park, West Hartford, CT • 2023 - 2025
Communications Committee Member • Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association • 2023 - 2025
• The Odds (comic series), commissioned through a grant from the Department of Mental Health and
Addiction Services (DMHAS) and the Cultural Coalition (July 2025 - present)
• Firenze II (door mural, acrylic on metal) for Regency Towers (Mezzanine Floor), Hartford, CT (Jun 2023)
• Haring (mural, acrylic on cinder block) for patron, Hartford, CT (Feb 2023)
• Firenze I (door mural, acrylic on metal) for private patron, Hartford, CT (Jan 2023)
• We are the Future (colored pencils on sketch paper), winner of the sketch design contest for the Rape &
Domestic Abuse Prevention (RDAP) organization, (Jun 2022)
• Alice (acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24") for patron, Alameda, CA (Nov 2021)
• Firenze (acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24") for patron, Selinsgrove, PA (Oct 2021)
• Eiffel II (mural, acrylic on cinder block), Selinsgrove Area High School, Selinsgrove, PA (May 2021)
• The Southern Ocean (mural, acrylic on cinder block, section seven of the Seven Seas murals for
Selinsgrove Area Pool Bath House), Selinsgrove, PA (May 2021)
• Eiffel (acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24") for patron, Selinsgrove, PA (Mar 2021)
• Sail II (acrylic on canvas, 18 x 24") for patron, Lewisburg, PA (Feb 2021)
• Snoopy & Woodstock (acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24") for patron, Sunbury, PA (Jan 2021)
• Sail I (acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24") for patron, Mount Laurel, NJ (Nov 2020)
• The Narwhal, Dugong, and Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (mural, acrylic on cinder block) for Selinsgrove
START, Selinsgrove, PA (Oct 2020)
• BLM/LGBTQ (acrylic on canvas, 18 x 24") (Jun 2020)
• The Bunny Trail (pencil on paper, 11" x 8.5") Sketch located on inside cover of DJ Tombe's book series,
The Bunny Trail (The Bunny Trail, Thou Wilt Go Now, Rabbit, and I Go With Thee) (2021, 2023,
2025)
Additional Experience
Creator and Artistic Director • The Odds • August 2025 — present
Italian Language Tutor • Trinity College Blume Language Lab • August 2025 — present
Outreach & Marketing Coordinator • Narnia Festival (Narni, Italy) • June — August 2025
Outreach and Engagement Graphic Design Intern • Office of the Connecticut Secretary of the State •
Jan — June 2025
International Customer Service Representative • Gelateria Fior di Luna (Rome, Italy) • Sept — Dec 2024
Educational Summer Enrichment Teacher • MeshEd • June — August 2024
Summer Intern • Connecticut Old State House • June — August 2023
Digital Animation Teacher • CalArts (Calibraska) • June — July 2022
Contributing Writer and Co-Editor • Nerdz Newz • August 2020 — Dec 2023 • nerdz-newz.com
Project Lead • Student/Teen Artist Resource Team (START) • May 2020 — February 2023
Honors & Achievements
Fulbright ETA Semi-Finalist • Fulbright Association, U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs • January 2026
Community Learning Research Fellow • Trinity College Center for Hartford Engagement & Research (CHER)
• Fall 2025 • Research conducted for HEDCO, Hartford, CT
Catalyst Summer Internship Fund Recipient • Trinity College • Summer 2025 • Awarded to support
summer internship at the Narnia Festival, Narni, Italy
Samual Barbin Coco Scholarship Recipient • Trinity College • April 2024 • Awarded at Trinity
College's Honors Day 2024
Faculty Honors Recipient • Trinity College • Awarded Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025,
Fall 2025
Capital Community College / Trinity College Liberal Arts Action Lab Participant • Constitution Plaza,
Hartford, CT • Fall 2023
Community Involvement
Volunteer Graphic Designer & Photographer • 2020 - present
Media & Communications Committee Member • Out Film CT • 2023 - present
Volunteer Junior Usher • The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts • 2023 - present
Set Strike & Usher • Playhouse on Park, West Hartford, CT • 2023 - 2025
Communications Committee Member • Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association • 2023 - 2025
