This week I have been doing a lot of thinking about where I've come from artistically, and I've realized my journey is longer than I thought, and I have several influences to be grateful for.
My Mom was probably my biggest influence, but only in the way that you never really appreciate. It just doesn't stand out as a singular moment. Instead it was just that time with Mom... But looking back at it, it's truly where I gained my appreciation for art. My Mom still maintains that I drew a lifelike rendition of a dog when I was 2 or 3. The story is completely unbelievable to me, especially since I can't dream of pulling that off now, some 30 odd years later. She always encouraged my artistic side, many times by giving me examples of what could be done. She was always better than me, but it was stuff that I looked up to. Through her I was exposed to painting, sketching, ink drawing, clay modelling, playing a keyboard, singing, dancing, acting, and writing. It was a very well rounded approach to art. To this day she still writes and still encourages me. My Step-Mom also had her own artistic flair. Right until the day she died she was always doodling whenever a paper was in front of her. Sometimes it was just swirls, sometimes it was flowers. She even had a tattoo of one of her doodles, which (to bring this full circle) was a dog.
When I think of the noticeable influences in my life though, the first to come to mind is my grade 8 art teacher. I HATED him. I could never do anything right in his eyes. And he was always telling me never to leave any white space on the paper. Even when the white space was intended, he would criticize it. At the time I hated him. Now, I think I can understand. And I appreciate the passion that he succeeded in building in me, even if it was a backward approach or maybe even unintentional. Now when I do my artwork I often think of him and his admonition. But I've come to understand it was never truly the whitespace that was the issue. It was the intentional use every space on the canvas. Anywhere there is white space is an area in danger of having not had attention. And in real life, things are rarely truly white. So in the words of my Grade 8 art teacher "Get rid of that white space!"
That same year I had a classmate who I held in high esteem because of his artwork. And he was good looking too which also contributed to his popularity. I however was one of the outcasts and so I never felt I could approach him. Somehow my Mom became friends with his Mom, so I wound up getting to hang out with him for a bit outside of school, but things at school didn't change. Unfortunately, I still didn't work up the guts to talk about his art. So instead we played video games and I had a missed opportunity.
As I grew through my teens I came across the adult magazine Heavy Metal, and I was blown away. Of course I'd seen comics before. I owned some Archie's and some Spiderman's. But this was a whole new level. The stories were pushed to the limits!The art was pushed to the limits! The colours! The thoughts! The details! Now I wanted to do this! How hard could it be? .... Well I don't think I really need to answer that... but in those magazines one artist stood out to me: Boris Vallejo. Whoo! He could paint! The beasts. The women. But more than anything: the presence! It was a piece of artwork that I could look at, and it felt like it took hold of me in my soul. And there was no way I could ever do that...
I continued to dabble and play. I had developed an interest in making video games, so I spent a lot of time at the computer, coding, and making sprites. I suddenly found that I could do so much more on the computer than I could by hand and it was liberating. I could make the images move! I was animating! But still I wasn't good enough to compare to anyone. Just a nameless boy in some hole in the wall of a computer room. Around that time I discovered 3DS Max. Unfortunately it was pirated, but it spread my horizons so much further. I endlessly enjoyed playing with the shapes and the reflections. Boolean objects were my play ground. Then for some reason I couldn't keep using 3DS Max. All this was before the Internet. But somehow I still found Blender. And I hated it! I couldn't figure out how to do anything. The buttons and menus from Max were all gone. And there weren't any Boolean shapes! I couldn't make anything with just primitives! Needless to say I didn't stick to it....Eventually I found Bryce 3D and Vista Pro, and they were fun to play with for a while. Made some pretty cool landscapes. I came across POV-RAY, and it blew my mind what that was capable of. But I had to manually code each shape and vertex... that was too much work...
Sometime after, I got married and had kids. My wife has a taste for art, and my kids have inherited it. My wife and I have now become their artistic role models. I aim to set a good example, and my wife's art hangs on our walls.
Eventually after the Internet became available I came across Blender again, and thanks to BlenderGuru(Andrew Price), I started to see the potential of Blender. I was actually able to make a few things! Andrew became my Blender saviour, and I would never forget it. I would however feel restrained by my own lack of focus and drift away from Blender once again. Recently, I made the decision to actually LEARN Blender, and not just play around. Naturally I looked up BlenderGuru. Andrew truly opened my eyes to the world of 3D this time. He explained how the program was merely a tool, and continued on to explain the elements of good art. Through his podcast I was able to get to know Andrew and his moral code of life. His views on Piracy are particularly influential. And more importantly his views on how to be an Artist are truly inspiring. I have taken many of his suggestions to heart, including writing this blog.
There have been so many aspects of my life which tie back to art, and so many influences, I don't seem to be able to list them all here. But reflecting upon this, it's surprising to see that I never really took art seriously. Recently I was in a car accident, and during my recovery I took the time to think about what I really want to do with my life. I decided it was time to stop randomly shifting through the sands of my life and stay on a steady course. I've gotten out of the sand and onto the ship named Graphic Design. Where will she take me? I'm not sure yet, but I know now that I'm the Captain of this ship. And I will intentionally fill the whitespace of my life.
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