Journals1
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About the 'Artist'
4 min read
I was born (as a baby) into the welcoming arms of a family. My mother is a maternal being named Christine. My father is her male counterpart named Brian. They are both human as far as I can tell. With them, I had lived a childhood of luxury amidst the most intellectually affluent of Gurnee, Illinois (in a one story, three bedroom ranch house). I also grew up with an elder sibling (a sophisticated older sister) named Bria.
I lived my adolescent years as one best can in such a case as mine. My days of youth were filled with decadence and unabated leisure followed by persistence and hard work. I would spend my study time reading the works of the the transcendentalists, the neoclassicists, and Dr. Seuss. I kept my hours of television to a minimum of 5 hours a night. I did all I could to enrich my livelihood, my well-being, and my neverending desire to cultivate my learning mind. (I'll have you know I now consider myself in perfect mental and physical health as a result.)
Throughout my educational progressions on the elementary level, I became fond of the pencil and the paper. I found that words and visual elements could be combined and that I also had a knack for the primitive ability of drawing. (Something about doodles on my homework?) From the experienced age of 8, I began a collection of sketchbooks. Scribbles, sketches, conceptuals, thumbnails, and thoroughly engineered perspective diagrams have all found their way into the books. Finished remnants of these books have all been securely vaulted in a safe in my family's home north of Chicago. With this newfound ambition, I quickly determined that a future as a cartoonist and as an 8-bit video game graphics designer was well within my reach!
I continued to hone my craft well into my intermediate, junior, and high school years. I'll admit I was largely self-taught, but I had several influences from family and friends to popular media. I learned early on that art is in the eye of the beholder more than most would like to admit. Some of my more intensive works did manage to find their ways into several trashbins both with and without my consent. Of course I've also been surprised enough to find my works framed and displayed in the homes of complete strangers.
Somehow, I managed to convince myself after four years of public highschool that Art would be a good liftetime interest for me to pursue. I attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago and I still have not yet fully realized the implications of this decision on my behalf. After spending my first two years in life drawing and learning basic design fundamentals, I pursued my Bachelors of Arts Degree in Visual Communications. I was introduced to digital illustration, web design, 3-D computer-generated imaging, animation, and interactive multimedia.
The mind-melding process of academic art education yielded an early reward and provided me with the confidence to pursue the art of caricature. During my second year of schooling, I sought a sub-contractor position under caricature artist Gary Fasen. I learned the subtle differences between so-called "party", "studio", and "themepark" caricature styles. I also learned that each artist has a varying style regardless of their setting or training. I considered working under Gary to be secondary education and was happy to work with several superior artists from the area.
After my graduation from the Academy, I continued my work under Gary Fasen for one more season. In 2003, I decided to move from my family's home in Gurnee, Illinois which I had lived in my entire life. Largely for social reasons and for a potential career location change, I took up residency in Orlando, Florida. I took up a subcontract position from Gary Fasen's older brother, Steve Fasen. Orlando became my home with some good friends for a long five years.
I've recently moved back home to Chicago to reacquaint myself with many missed friends and family.
((The preceding bit of literature has a formality rating of 11.1 and an absurdity rating of 10.7... please omit certain details as they may have been intended for a more or less discerning audience. The previous has not been rated for humor, brevity, or lack thereof.))
I lived my adolescent years as one best can in such a case as mine. My days of youth were filled with decadence and unabated leisure followed by persistence and hard work. I would spend my study time reading the works of the the transcendentalists, the neoclassicists, and Dr. Seuss. I kept my hours of television to a minimum of 5 hours a night. I did all I could to enrich my livelihood, my well-being, and my neverending desire to cultivate my learning mind. (I'll have you know I now consider myself in perfect mental and physical health as a result.)
Throughout my educational progressions on the elementary level, I became fond of the pencil and the paper. I found that words and visual elements could be combined and that I also had a knack for the primitive ability of drawing. (Something about doodles on my homework?) From the experienced age of 8, I began a collection of sketchbooks. Scribbles, sketches, conceptuals, thumbnails, and thoroughly engineered perspective diagrams have all found their way into the books. Finished remnants of these books have all been securely vaulted in a safe in my family's home north of Chicago. With this newfound ambition, I quickly determined that a future as a cartoonist and as an 8-bit video game graphics designer was well within my reach!
I continued to hone my craft well into my intermediate, junior, and high school years. I'll admit I was largely self-taught, but I had several influences from family and friends to popular media. I learned early on that art is in the eye of the beholder more than most would like to admit. Some of my more intensive works did manage to find their ways into several trashbins both with and without my consent. Of course I've also been surprised enough to find my works framed and displayed in the homes of complete strangers.
Somehow, I managed to convince myself after four years of public highschool that Art would be a good liftetime interest for me to pursue. I attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago and I still have not yet fully realized the implications of this decision on my behalf. After spending my first two years in life drawing and learning basic design fundamentals, I pursued my Bachelors of Arts Degree in Visual Communications. I was introduced to digital illustration, web design, 3-D computer-generated imaging, animation, and interactive multimedia.
The mind-melding process of academic art education yielded an early reward and provided me with the confidence to pursue the art of caricature. During my second year of schooling, I sought a sub-contractor position under caricature artist Gary Fasen. I learned the subtle differences between so-called "party", "studio", and "themepark" caricature styles. I also learned that each artist has a varying style regardless of their setting or training. I considered working under Gary to be secondary education and was happy to work with several superior artists from the area.
After my graduation from the Academy, I continued my work under Gary Fasen for one more season. In 2003, I decided to move from my family's home in Gurnee, Illinois which I had lived in my entire life. Largely for social reasons and for a potential career location change, I took up residency in Orlando, Florida. I took up a subcontract position from Gary Fasen's older brother, Steve Fasen. Orlando became my home with some good friends for a long five years.
I've recently moved back home to Chicago to reacquaint myself with many missed friends and family.
((The preceding bit of literature has a formality rating of 11.1 and an absurdity rating of 10.7... please omit certain details as they may have been intended for a more or less discerning audience. The previous has not been rated for humor, brevity, or lack thereof.))
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