Something different

Waking up
At 35 I find myself wondering how I got to where I am. I should start out by saying I am quite a lucky guy. For 9 years I’ve worked for and with some of the top online journalism professionals, seasoned veterans of news and information graphics. We all got into the business one way or another but one thing is similar. We started in art school graduating as potential illustrators, painters or designers. Over the years, the job of an on staff artist in a news organization has and still is morphing. I made the leap from print to online in the mid 90’s. Photoshop, Flash, along with countless other software packages became my brushes and paint. As I rode the wave of change I saw my home studio shrink and the tools change so drastically that now all I have is a computer sitting on a desk. Recently I dragged an old artist supply station out of the closet and put it next to the desk just to make myself feel better (it’s one of those plastic things on wheels that spins and has drawers, pockets and shelves in it).
Last month I had a stroke. Yes, at 35. Doctor’s couldn’t find any reason why I had it. I’m young and in good shape. They only could speculate that I tore an artery in my neck and that blood got into my cerebellum. They looked for the tear but never found it. They told me that it probably healed before they could see it. I am fully recovered now, thank God. I look at it as a wake up call though. In the back of my mind I’ve always felt I dropped my god-given talent. And now is the time to pick it up. What got me into the visual field was my passion for drawing and painting. And I miss it. I have a feeling that that passion is a key to my future as my career continues to develop.