The Origins of Chaos in Color

My history with artwork has been intertwined with computer graphics since nearly the beginning, neither one ever completely separate from the other.

I was never a serious artist in school. I drew pictures all the time, and sometimes got in trouble for doodling during class, but nobody would have mistaken me for a prodigy. My dad did encourage me to draw and paint though, a seed which for whatever reason took a very, very, very long time to grow.

I had my first encounter with computer graphics in the mid 1980s when my dad bought an Epson QX-10 computer for his business. It was monochrome (green) and it had no hard drive, but through sheer curiosity and hours of dark experimentation, I was eventually able to make it draw geometric shapes and do sprite animation.

Fast forward to college, where I earned an M.C.S. In Computer Science with an emphasis on Computer Graphics, CAGD, and Image Processing. I had everything I needed to succeed in the computer graphics industry, except for a plan. Instead, I took a software engineering job at a local telephony company and quietly went about making a living.

I did take a few art classes in college, and when she saw the results of my first college drawing class, my Grandmother Millie said to me, "I think you may have missed your calling.” I suppose that's just the kind of thing that grandmothers are supposed to say, but hearing it out loud reinforced my desire to be doing something a little more creative.

After starting work as a software engineer, I didn't draw much anymore but I did foray in to digital artwork with things like Windows icons, logos, and a brief attempt at painting with Deluxe Paint under MS-DOS. I directed most of my creative energies towards user interface design, and then later on into website design.

Fast forward a little farther and you'll find me running my own freelance programming business, building websites and helping small business people with various programming needs. Ironically, this completely un-choreographed series of career choices somehow lead me right back to where I had always wanted to be - computer graphics.

Working freelance has given me significantly more opportunity to pursue artwork, especially digital painting. I still enjoy programming, which is an artform of its own, but there's just something really exciting about creating a visual work of art.  I'm still trying to find my niche, but I know that it will involve color, computers, cats, creatures, and a fair amount of chaos. Oh, and bears, definitely bears. (Take that, Stephen Colbert.) 

My brother sells fine art rubber stamps through Meer Image.  You can see a few of my dad's Paintings and Sketches as well.  My mom's mother also used to paint.  I think I see a pattern here!