My passion for creation began when I was seven years old. At the time, someone gave me a plastic model airplane kit. This sparked an obsession with aircraft. Over the years, I progressed to control line models and eventually radio-controlled aircraft. I worked extensively with balsa wood, plywood, epoxy, fabric, foam, plastic films, and an airbrush for painting.
This passion led me to pursue a career as a pilot and I also took a course in aircraft maintenance engineering. Unfortunately, everything came to a screeching halt in the early 1980's. One night, I did my first and only commercial flight. During the flight, I experienced excruciating pain in my right ear, which felt like being stabbed with an ice pick.
The next day I went to the doctor. He told me my right eardrum was full of blood and I was in danger of a rupture. I was grounded immediately and could not fly again for two months. At that moment, I knew my career as a pilot was over, because I experienced one or two ear infections every year.
Reinvention Through Photography
After this setback, I needed to reinvent myself. Two years later, I became interested in special effects photography.
With assistance from my father and some industry connections, I became a part of the multi-image industry in 1988, producing special effects images for computer-controlled slide shows. Unfortunately, shortly after I began, computer graphics became popular, and before I knew it, my career was over.
Some time later, and again with my father's help, I began working as a computer graphics artist. During that time I met Miles Simons, who ran a stock photography agency. We became friends and he taught me much about the industry.
At the time, the computer graphics industry was evolving rapidly and I learned about a program called Live Picture. I was blown away by the demos and wanted to buy it, but it was $4,000, it ran on the Power Mac and I couldn't afford it.
I was stuck - or so it seemed.
A few months later, I was robbed and I lost my entire music collecton and instruments. As luck would have it, the money allowed me to buy a Power Mac and Live Picture, which had dropped in price to only $800.
Using my setup and working with a team of photographers, Miles and I created over 300 concept images for stock photography catalogs. Unfortunately, just as we were finishing our series, the industry shifted from rights-protected photography to royalty-free, which devastated our business overnight. Though I made some money from stock photography, it wasn't much.
Teaching and Writing
Looking for new opportunities, I became a software instructor after completing a weekend course, and began working for the Vancouver School Board's continuing education program. Then I had a job offer in Victoria and moved there. Unfortunately, seven weeks after I arrived, I was fired.
Two weeks later, my cousin Marty Waterman came over and asked me, "Do you want to learn how write?" With no other prospects, I said "Yes." Marty took me to the library, showed me the Gales Directories, and taught me the basics of freelance writing for magazines.
Initially, Marty asked me to create a mind map to look for various writing opportunities but I knew what I wanted, photography and computer graphics.
Working in this way allowed me to build my career in that industry. And courtesy of a technique I learned from Marty, I was able to get all the software I needed without paying for it, in exchange for reviews and tutorials.
Eventually, I was writing for the biggest names in the computer graphics industry and writing for the best magazines. In one case, I was hired as an associate editor and worked at the magazine for five years, managing a team of writers from all over the world. In time, I was published over 1,000 times, writing for magazines all over the world.
Finding My Artistic Vision
Despite my accomplishments, I was frustrated by my lack of understanding about art. I wanted to create my own compositions and I hated working under the direction of someone else. One summer, I took a class at the Victoria College of Art. Within hours, I realized I had all the talent I needed but I was too impatient at times. After that realization, I made the decision to attend art school the following fall.
Three major breakthroughs occurred during my time at art school: learning composition and design, learning how to draw in perspective, and learning how to see as an artist.
Learning how to see came during working on "The Chair Sculpture from Hell." After an hour of meticulous measuring and transferring lines to my canvas, I experienced a sudden shift, and instantly, I knew how to see as an artist. This transformation unified all my knowledge of computers, graphics, art, and photography. That knowledge gave me the confidence I needed to create anything I wanted, given sufficient resources and time. That knowledge has never left me.
Healing Through Art
Midway through art school, I created an exhibition called "The Dark Night," which was a visual exploration of my experiences with child abuse. The show included paintings, stained glass work, digital images, and 3D modeling.
After sending out some press releases, Shaw Cable interviewed me, producing a segment that aired many times, 24 hours/day and it turned me into a minor celebrity in my home town.
During that time, I received many calls from the first nations community. In every case, they asked, "How do you know our story?"
I said, "I didn't, I painted from my life's experience."
Eventually, I realized I had tapped into the universal archetypes of child abuse. This led to an invitation to present my work at William Head medium-security prison, where I was honored with a tour of their longhouse, which hand built by the native inmates. It was an amazing experience.
Recent Healing and Current Direction
The last twenty years brought severe challenges, including bad business decisions that led to confrontations with the Canada Revenue Agency. The resulting trauma caused me to lose approximately 40% of my memory and led to periods of homelessness and near starvation. Sixteen years later, I recovered my memories, resumed my artistic direction, and did extensive healing work regarding the narcissism in my family and other relationships.
Three months ago, while watching videos about narcissism, I encountered one which stated that being with a narcissist is like being in a cult. Within a few moments of watching it, I suddenly realized why I had suffered for so long. My family was using mind control techniques on me. Within seconds, I went from A to Z in my mind. Suddenly, the abuse vanished and, finally, I knew what had happened to me.
Current Work and AI Integration
Recently, I embraced AI for image creation. I revisited an old project involving butterfly coloring books and used Canva to recreate the project, which was published on Amazon. Later, a writer friend later hired me to create images for a science fiction book about androids. Using Midjourney, I created a robot head image that they loved and used for the book.
In a short time, AI has made a profound difference to my work. I use it for idea generation, prototyping, and creating compositional elements. Going forward, my work will encompass traditional painting techniques, stained glass, photography, computer graphics, and 3D modeling for printing.
I now live in Mexico and split my time between Bucerias and Chapala. I work as a full-time artist creating unique, one of a kind artworks. This is done for collectors and high net worth individuals who understand the value of art as an investment.