I always loved to draw.
Never considered myself very good at it, but I guess my talents were enough to keep me as a C+ student all the way through secondary school?
I recall in Grade 12 asking my art instructor if I should pursue a career in Graphic Design. He pretty much told me that I wasn't cut out for it and
didn't have the talent to do so.
Kinda took the wind out of my sails at the time...so I wasted a year
living on my own at the age of 17 and playing hockey all friggn' winter long, just to keep my butt off the streets at the time.
Going back to school for a final credit and living on $1800.00
for 10 months was not my idea of fun! but I survived...
A year later however, after finding out that upon completing my 4 year Automotive technology course simply wasn't what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I turned around and enrolled in a 2 year Graphic Communication course at a local community college. This was 1978.
I learned quite a bit, not only about art, design and advertising, but about myself and the talents that I did have at the time.
It was good enough to earn a first place spot in a Canadian National competition and inspired me to pursue Graphic Design as a career...eventually getting a position with another community college as resident Graphics Technician.
Not only that, but I rather excelled at illustration in the 2nd year of college, that I was asked to go back to my highschool with a selection of my illustrations to promote the course being offered at the college back then. I declined. Even though my original instructor was there, I just didn't have it in me to go through with it.
The neat thing was that the reps from the course that did go in my place, came back asking if my illustrations were for sale as a number of the students that they were presenting to, were impressed with them enough to want to buy them...hahahaha.
It was then, after quite a few pay cheques, that I was able to purchase an airbrush and self-teach myself the fine art of illustration, photo retouching and painting.
Combining the art of design, illustration, and photography for the college kept me quite happy for almost 8 years. Did a lot of freelance work on the side, logo design, photo retouching, illustration, and some of my own paintings that I had framed and included in art exhibitions through the community Art Club that I was a member of at the time.
Some of the works made it to Toronto for exhibitions and all the while that they did, I never did have a "for sale" sign on them because I was too attached to the damn things...hahaha.
Only when I was commissioned to do a painting would I go through with the transaction.
Only once did I sell a painting from an exhibition, was when a doctor from Northern Ontario, called me up and asked if he could purchase it...said that "he had to have it"...even though it wasn't for sale...he said that he was willing to pay the "insurance price" that I had put onto the framed piece at the time.
I sold it to him. If someone likes my work that much, they deserve it.
Never did meet the man?...and sold it through a 3rd party.
The desire seemed to fade however around 1988 and it was at this point where I felt that I needed a change. I actually quit a pretty secure full time position and decided to go "freelance".
Not a good thing to do, especially when you move to a smaller Northern Ontario community, back in the day before computers and email...haha.
I continued to paint and do whatever I could to make ends meet.
Even working as a contract designer for an ad agency, which was, and allowed me to produce some pretty decent design work at the time.
Never did get a permanent position at the time as "computer graphics" were becoming the mainstay of the day and unfortunately, I was still "old school" doing everything by hand and a repro camera.
1990, saw me packing up the car with pretty much all I owned and headed a little further South. Lucky for me, the one red light I stopped at found me turning right, towards a small, sign shop.
In speaking with the owner, he said he really didn't have any room for a designer. However, when I dropped the name of an Ad Agency that I worked for, it piqued his interest. He brought me into another room and not a word of a lie, handed me a bottle of Correction Fluid..."WHITE OUT"...and asked me to fix a mistake on a piece of artwork???
I thought to myself, this must be a joke, and looked around for the camera, waiting for Mr. Funt to pop out and tell me I was on Candid Camera???
Unbeknownst to me at that point, was that he went and called up the ad agency I had worked for. Long story short, he came back and although mentioned that even though I had no "sign shop" experience, would I be able to start the next day?
Of course I said yes, as I was about to start looking for the nearest parking lot to sleep in that night.
I guess my design skills and help of a former employer, helped me get my foot in the door. Turns out he had a computerized sign making system on the premises with nobody to run it.
The first day, he asked if I knew anything about the technology, and being honest, I told him "NO", but I sure would be willing to learn.
It turned out that CorelDraw and I became instant friends and when everyone else went home, I stayed until 11 or 12 at night, once again teaching myself this "new technology".
It paid off. Made some great strides in learning all about computer graphics as well as learning all about computer technology at the same time.
Took me a couple of years to get the hang of it too!!! When I first arrived, the old sign painter that did everything and anything regarding the signs that we made for our customers, pretty much had little use for me. I learned so much from this man over the course of 3 years and we became great friends...to the point where he asked me to be a witness to his "personal will". The best part though came one day, when I produced a final layout for him as a completed sign and he commented..."now that's a SIGN!!!".
This comes from a guy that was a sign painter all of his life, ex military, and one who built his own planes that he flew!...not models!!! The real deal!
Gotta tell ya...that's something that I'll never forget coming from a man of his calibre and stature.
Emmett passed away in August of 2005 and I miss the man...that's
all I can say.
Sad part was, that in late 1993, the owner was bouncing cheques left, right and center, and finally filed for bankruptcy.
Out of work again, and just after buying a house and turning down a job with Moore Business Forms...because I was loyal to the guy that gave me a break, plus the fact that I loved the sign making industry...I now had to carry on.
Focusing on mortgage payments, I had to put my creativity aside and was lucky enough to garner a contract position with a government agency making "road signs". The offer that they were giving up at the time was good enough for me! I took it.
In 1995, they hired me full time as Sign Maker Journeyman. Using the experience I had from the commercial days, I was able to find a comfortable position as Signmaker. Went through 2 interviews and came out of them with the choice of one job or the other.
Stayed that way, as we were unionized, until we first went on strike in 1996. I honored the union by not crossing the line, but did not do the "picket line" thing, and instead decided to dust off the airbrush and get into automotive airbrush illustration work to bring in much needed extra cash. From there, even after the dispute was settled, and we went back to work, I now found myself doing all sorts of automotive and commercial airbrush work on the side.
What started out as a necessity for money and a love of the art itself, now became a "job" and I eventually gave that up about 3 years ago.
I still get the odd call from people that are given my name from previous customers, and a part of me cringes when I say "I'm sorry, but I no longer do that kind of work"...even sadder is that they'll ask if I know of anyone in the area that does the stuff and I can't give them an answer?
?
For what it's worth...I still get the desire to grab a pencil and start all over again...doing a quick sketch...but damn it all if that urge doesn't last long at all? I don't know what it is? The only thing I can say is that because of what I see, that can be done on the computer, just overcomes what a person can do by hand?
I know that's sad...especially when you consider the fact that there are probably soooo many talented people out there that can "create" without need of a mouse or keyboard...and yet, it's easier to play a video game? I think that's one thing that gets to me...I see sooooo many great and creative graphics on the computer, and I ask myself..."geeeez...this would take me weeks to produce this by hand"...why bother?
Don't get me wrong, I've done some basic computer illustration, for publications and annual reports, but it just isn't the same? I can do stuff by sliding a mouse around on a pad...and it just isn't the same???
Even then, there's a 12 year old that will kick my arse in talent these days when it comes to computer art...so it doesn't matter what I can do with a pencil?.............
Soooooo...just when you thought that I was gonna post some samples...you turn around and get a story?...hahahahahahaha...
The best thing is, I am no longer a Signmaker...I am the coordinator for the shop that I started out in...and shuffle papers, doing month end reports and oversee 3 other signmakers...something about advancement that sometimes really makes ya go "hmmmm"
hahahahahahahahaha.
HEY!!! the post asked if anyone draws or paints...I told ya!!!
Actually, I did have one illustration on here...it was my tag at the bottom of my posts...the pic of Freddie. I airbrushed that onto a
skidoo windshield. I did it in a day, they then sprayed the inside of it to bring the image out, then clear coated it. Ended up on an Arctic Cat unit and actually made it to a magazine article on some snowmobile mag?
That's the kicker though, here's a piece of work that makes it to a
published mag, and I charged the guy $135.00 for the work...peanuts... I might as well go back to "colouring books"...and as long as I don't go out of the lines...I should be okay???
Now you know why I'd rather sit here and talk to you folks...
hahahaha!...it's just as enjoyable...and besides...who wants to see the artwork of a 49 year old idiot?...
Thanks
Kim
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I haven't drawn the Hulk in a while. I'd don't know if I could even pull that off right now using Paint. 
...and I have a question. Did you end up sleeping in a parking lot that night?