My love for art began when I was very young…at an age when every little kid enjoys drawing and doodling. As the years went by, I found I always had to have paper and pen with me where ever I went…and I still enjoyed drawing beyond the age when other children found different interests.
I spent much time developing my skills and pushing my imagination…I enjoyed it better, I think, than anything else in my childhood with the exception of Loony Tunes cartoons. Well, I'm still doodling and coming up with weird stuff to draw.
I went to art school where I learned how to draw models and realistic things and even more importantly learned how to paint. So after I got the hang of painting I went back to some old sketches and painted them with my newly found skills. I was hooked, had tons of ideas…I couldn't get enough. Gradually I got a portfolio of work together with my new style and am still working on new ideas.
Most of the time, I get an image in my mind to paint, just a picture to start from. And as I work on the painting I often wonder about what the image is about, what the characters' stories are about and where this oddness came from. Most of the time I have no idea where these things come from but enjoy their arrival all the same.
One example of where I get my ideas from is sometimes people will say something that immediately forms an image in my mind. For instance…the phrase "carrying a tune" I picture musicians with their instruments balanced on top of each other…as if the bottom character was in fact literally carrying a tune.
Other times, as I work on the painting, I often think of what the story might be behind the image. For example, when I painted Humpty Dumpty…I thought it would be interesting to capture him before he fell. I thought he might be a happy-go-lucky kind of a creature, dancing along the wall when he ultimately and sadly lost his footing.
Sometimes an
image would develop into a long story and I'd work out the plot as I paint.
But as a general rule…quite frankly I have no idea where these odd things
come from…which makes it very exciting…and I never know what will
come next but am always looking ahead towards the next image with wonder and
curiosity…
