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I
ventured into the world of art in late 1996.
Becoming an artist has been one of the biggest surprises-- and miracles-- in my
life to date. I started out in the
field of aviation and engineering. Raised
on a small airport in northern California by parents who were both pilots, it
was a natural direction for me to take. My
mother taught me to fly, and I soloed at the age of 16.
I later went to college and graduated with a degree in aeronautical
engineering. This career was a bit
too structured for me, so I returned to flying and eventually worked my way up
to flying jets for a major U.S. airline. This
was a wonderful career. I happily flew for 16 years, at which time a
problem with migraine headaches over-took me, and I was forced to retire as I no
longer met the stringent health requirements for being a commercial pilot. I floundered for a while. I knew that I wanted to do something with my computer, but didn’t know what. In late 1996 I discovered 3D software and become completely obsessed with the notion of creating fantasy and science fiction scenes. With no artistic training, little knowledge of the software, and a computer that was far from state-of-the-art, I struggled to make my scenes a reality. I put my first attempts on my website in early 1997, and made my first sale to a science fiction magazine in Australia. A couple of months later I discovered science fiction and fantasy conventions and began having my work printed and framed. I have since shown and sold my work as fine art at various conventions around the country, as well as through my website. More recently, I've discovered "traditional" media, and I am now painting in both acrylics and oils. Although I still love my computer, it is mainly used for commercial graphics and to facilitate in the composition of my paintings. Every day is an exciting adventure for me. Everything sparks my interest, and eventually finds it’s way into a scene. Ancient ruins, an interesting lamp post, a royal carriage, palaces, old bridges, reflections on water, swamps, lakes, mountain streams, a spinning wheel … all provide grist for my mill. And, of course, you can’t have palaces, swamps … ruins without wolves, horses, dragons, fairies, mythical people ... and, above all, cats. I love putting cats in my scenes, so watch for them. I have been completely taken over by the mystical realm of fantasy. The possibilities are limitless. I know that I have a successful scene in the works when I begin to feel a sense of wonder--of possibilities lurking just around the corner, down the street, or behind the curtain–of questions unanswered, of adventures about to take place, of a story to be told. The scenes, in a sense, build themselves, and I trail behind waiting to see what’s going to happen next. And I know that I’ve been successful when someone writes and tells me that they, too, had these feelings when viewing my work.
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