Why did you become an artist?

Every child must have been asked the same question by an ernest teacher "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

I remember sitting there listening as students' hands went up and some of their answers.

The teacher told us that "You should pick a job that has something to do with what you like to do." So I sat there and thought about all of things that I liked to do and all of the things I was interested in. It seemed to me that the only job that would contain all of the things I was interested in was art. That's the earliest memory I have of a conscious decision to become an artist. Over time, I found that the arts was a perfect place for me to explore my interests and share my conclusions and ideas with others.

While I was in college and for a couple years afterward, I got away from the idea of sharing my ideas. I found that the work I was producing early on was far from hitting the mark when it came to communicating. In fact, it was downright obtuse. So, for the sake of clarity, I re-focused my work on representational images.

I have found a greater satisfaction in my work since forsaking the obtuse. And I still am a student, always searching and unwilling to deny my curiosity.