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I have been told that I started drawing as soon as I could hold a pencil. By the time I was three, I announced that I was going to be an artist when I grew up. Later, I decided that I also wanted to be a writer, but drawing was my first love.
I drew my way through school, much to the consternation of my teachers. I doodled compulsively. I simply could not take notes without drawing in the margins or, worse yet, losing track of the lecture entirely as I became lost in my pictures. Drawing was such a distraction, in fact, that my most prolific periods correspond with low points in my academic achievement. As a result, much of the work posted in my gallery are from very short periods a long time ago. With respect to my schooling, my artistic nature has been more a vice than a virtue. Being an artist is not a practical career; career counselors and my family encouraged me to pursue a more practical, less competitive career than art. As a result, I have no formal training in art (having studied Linguistics), but it is still probably my greatest strength. I still remember that day in my freshman year of college, when I realized that I could finally draw in pencil and feel satisfied with what I produced. At that point, I realized that it was time to move to color, which I have been working on ever since. Since 2001, I have been dabbling in oils, but have a long way to go. I feel fortunate to have gotten to study under Jennifer Kai Nilles, who is a wonderful artist. I also got to take an ROP Animation course shortly after graduating from UCSD, but had to quit to get a nine-to-five job. In terms of achievement, I suppose it was always clear that art was my greatest gift: I was always recognized in my art classes. In fifth grade, I was introduced to the world of insane deadlines, when a teacher pulled me out of class one day to illustrate the school district’s literary magazine literally overnight alongside a real art school graduate. I felt both honored and completely unworthy! By the time I was in middle school, I started drawing and painting for profit, doing odd jobs. The school paid me in gift certificates to paint its logo on raffle boxes, which, last I heard, were still in use. I designed the program for school plays in middle and high school, including “Cinderella,” “The End of the World, Part 2.” Teachers commissioned me to do calligraphy lettering for awards. I did some logo work and t-shirt design in high school and afterward for a few non-profits and small businesses of acquaintances, including “Hot Potato” (a now defunct restaurant), “Mermaid’s Dowry Antiques,” “Jura” (a Lithuanian dance group), Balboa Park’s House of Pacific Relations “Queens.” I’ve also done a few murals and participated in San Diego’s Uptown Utility Art Box project (my box is on the corner of 1st and Laurel). Right now, my current project is finishing illustrations to include in the print copies of my children’s book, The King’s Magic, which is currently available on Amazon. |