The Early Years

 

Crayon, Pencil, Paper, Pen. Hippies, Church and Closest Kin.

It’s the end of “no-art”, as I know it...

 

I have had, and hope to continue having an interesting life.  My draw to drawing started in church and nature. Some say those are synonymous. I say those people are hippies. I started drawing in church at a young age because it was something my parents found I could do to keep me from wiggling around and disrupting those around me. We went to church often, so I got a self led, twice a week drawing class. I would say it nurtured my artistic love and growth. Naturally.

 

Nature naturally nurtured my art too. But not by drawing it, but by learning to slow down and admire it. During my youth, my family moved to Happy Hollow in Tennessee. There were hippy communes, mennonites, ruffians, funny drunks, yurt folk, and my grandparents close by. We also lived without electricity or running water. Without the distraction of television and a strong desire to stay outside of a non air conditioned dwelling, I found our rabbits, chickens, bugs, trees, and creek life most entertaining. So my artistic mind was further developed by allowing myself to process and hold all those images I was seeing.

 

I progressed through school learning that staying awake and quiet at school were a value to the teachers, so my self taught art lessons continue at a much more vigorous pace. Pretty soon I was drawing my classmates matchbox cars for a whopping ten cents each. They loved it. I was getting rich. The world and I were one.

 

Finding my Bearing

 

Brushes and cans,

And just clap your hands...

 

After graduating high school I went on to become a store artist for a couple different companies, where I produced various overhead signs and point of purchase signage using foam board as my canvas, and airbrush, spray paint, and conventional paints as my medium. I was an artist, and I was getting paid. It was a very modest income, but I was getting paid to create and I was loving it.

 

I continued to freelance and on a whim, I applied to the Atlanta College of Art and to my surprise, was accepted. After a long tenure there of one semester, I dropped out. Tuition was too expensive. However, I was now freelancing work for metro area home builders, creating architectural renderings of homes that were yet to be built. I was also working with a friend trying to get a prop building business off the ground, and also working with a group of folks to start a nonprofit.

 

Serendipitously, I met my wife, who talked me into going back to college. And off I went.  I learned the art of making digital maps and was asked to create maps for the academic publication “The Geography of Beer”, and also, to create icons for a digital historic map for Bartow County’s Etowah Valley Historical Society.

 

Where I Am

 

The cuts that can make one...

Calm like a “Banksy” bomb

 

My digital artist is appeased at “work” now, and I am free to create paintings and drawings as I please, in the sanctuary of my home studio. These works are sometimes produced for galleries.

 

I remember when I sold my first piece of art through a gallery, I was shocked to find the gallery’s cut was so large! Talking with other artists, I found that this was common practice. The maelstrom of  feelings inside was the start of wanting to give artists a chance to sell work without the feeling of being ripped off.

 

I have kept on and will continue to keep creating art, for that is my passion.  I love the fact that I create digital art at “work”, while creating painted or drawn pieces for myself and hopefully the mass public will find these creations enjoyable.

 

Love, Like and Keep Arting!

​

Mike