Back in my early 20s, I found myself working as a security officer in a hospital. Now, let me tell you, for a naturally shy and introspective guy, this job was a real test. Imagine having to be the authority figure, directing people during some of the most stressful moments of their lives. Add to that the fun of subduing violent or inebriated folks, especially on the weekend shifts. We had our fair share of interesting characters, like "HH," who was a sparring partner for Mike Tyson. When the police called to warn us about HH, we knew we were in for a ride. Then there was "Joe," a guy who had done serious time and always kept us on our toes. One day, a big, friendly guy from California showed up to visit a sick relative. He got to chatting with our team and mentioned he was opening a martial arts school in the area. Naturally, we were intrigued. This was the 90s, mind you, before MMA became all the rage. He introduced us to Jeet Kune Do, the martial art popularized
Being an artist is a lot like being on a rollercoaster. There are ups and downs but all of it thrilling. Thrilling can be seen as a negative with all its stress and fears. Who would want to go through that? Well, those very things can feel positive. It is understood that in order to enjoy the ride you simply accept that those stresses are part of it. Notice how most people feel exhilarated coming off the rollercoaster. In fact we tend to rush, now a days, to see what we looked like during those hairy pin turns in the photos posted as you walk out of the ride. Most people have fun. As artist we can have stretches of time when all is great. You can have paintings, like I did, flying all over the world to live in a new homes. Your bank account can be flush with cash, no credit card debts, maybe a bit of a surplus for fun things or investments. That’s how it was for me right after my first solo show in 2005: a sold out show, some local write ups, attention, more interest in my work. Thi