Looking Back, Looking Forward

"Terminator 2", by Mike Wimmer. Universal Studios. Oil on board. You know his work, even if you didn't know you knew it!

Last Friday, my senior illustration class had the privilege of an hour long video chat with the incredible Mike Wimmer. His paintings are beyond inspiring, and he himself was exuberant in his speech about painting. He spoke with such passion and reverence, and nearly everything he said was profound, and yet he was very grounded and easy to talk to. One of the things he spoke about was passion for what it is we do, for painting. He spoke of a passion that burns so deep within you, you have to do it, whatever it may be. One line stood out to me in particular and inspired this week's post, “You just can't quit doing this thing.”

As I begin my senior thesis project, I can't help but reflect a bit on how I got to where I am today. It's the story of a passion that simply wouldn't go away, no matter how much I neglected it. I loved to draw, and now I love to paint, and I just can't quit doing this thing!

Like most artists, or rather most kids, I've been drawing since I could hold a pencil. I just never “grew out of it”. There have been a few periods of time in my life that drawing went on the back burner as I explored other interests, but time and time again, I kept coming back to art. I could never get away for too long. There was an itch that needed to be scratched, I just had to draw something!

As a kid, I remember looking at picture books and saying, “I want to do that! I want to be an illustrator!” In fact, there's a home video of little 8 year old Nick being interviewed by his father. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “An artist!” I proclaimed!

My way of celebrating my interests as a kid was to draw them. Favorite TV shows and movie characters, video games, books, everything. In second grade I drew an illustrated version of the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, my favorite video game. In fifth grade I wrote my own “book” and drew all the characters, designed weapons, and drew a book cover. In sixth grade I drew a bunch of characters for a comic book idea. This is the norm for almost every artist I know.

But in middle school, I started to shift focuses. All of my electives were music instead, as I got serious about playing percussion in the school ensembles. By high school, I was set on being a musician. But all the while I was doodling in my notebooks and on desks, and every now and then I'd do an actual drawing. Just for fun.

My junior year of high school, I decided to take an art class again. The first day in the freshmen level studio art class, my teacher, Mr. Ganes, pulled me aside and switched me into the sophomore level “Drawing and Painting” class. Halfway through the year he switched me into the junior level, “Drawing and Painting 2”, and by my senior year I was caught up with the AP Drawing & Painting students. As I was applying to colleges, I looked for schools with great programs for both music and art, because I was still set on being a musician. Art was just for fun.

My first day at the University of Hartford I tried to declare an art minor, but for a few reasons it didn't work out. I went a year and a half without doing any artwork as practicing music took over all of my time. Then, the winter break of my sophomore year, I enrolled in Doug Anderson's Figure Drawing class. I loved it! I learned so much in just two weeks, and I was drawing again!

Another semester came and went. In the fall of my third year in college, I signed up for the “Introduction to Illustration” class taught by Bill Thomson. Hook, line, and sinker. I couldn't resist anymore. I talked to Bill about what he thought of the prospect of me being an illustrator, and after his encouragement I switched majors.

So halfway through my junior year of college, I entered the illustration program as a sophomore.

I've crammed a four year program into two and a half years, and I've loved every second of it. 

A "Throwback Thursday" picture I shared on Facebook. The drawing on left is from that first figure drawing class with Doug Anderson. The painting on the right is from the figure painting class I took with Doug last month. It's the same model in both pictures. It puts things in perspective to see how far I've come in three short years and keeps me looking forward to see how much further I want to go!

I just couldn't not do this thing. I can't quit doing this thing. This thing is drawing. It's painting. It's creating. It's telling stories. Who knows why it is that we each have our own special something that we have to do - that something that burns so deeply inside of you, you literally have to do it. But it's such a beautiful thing to have.

Another great piece of humbling advice from Mr. Wimmer, though, was to not forget that no one stumbles up a mountain. So take your passion, and work. Hard.

And now that we've looked back, we can take a look forward. Here's a progress shot on the first painting in the Argonautica series for my senior thesis. It's my first watercolor painting in a few months, and every time I return to the medium I fall more in love with it! Follow me on Facebook to check it out when it's finished in a few days!