Even when I was just a kid, cracklin' down the sidewalk on by captain america bigwheel, I was taking it all in. I would call myself a student of life, for sure... an observer. I may be older now, but I haven't changed much in the way of being a conduit for my surroundings. -And I pretty much am still a kid at heart.
If you asked me then what I wanted to be when I grew up, I'm not sure I would have had a clear answer. I probably would have said Michael Jackson or Elvis Presley. Yeah- about that, I never did develop that singing voice, but I still have a few moves I use on the occasional dance floor.
I grew up surrounded by my mom's oil paintings and used them as a benchmark for something to strive for. She was a good painter and like any kid, I wanted to impress her. I guess I was influenced by her more than I thought. Painting stuck with me through the years and I even managed to maintain a career in it. My art though, took a back seat when I was introduced to product design.
I never would have guessed as a child that I would end up designing objects for a living. It makes sense though. Even then, I was using cardboard and duct tape to modify my remote controlled car to be a butler robot.
For years, I kept my fine art and design seperate, but I am learning that bridging the two makes me better at both. I borrow on my art background so I can have empathy for the end user of the product I am designing and so I can inject an emotive quality to the design. Using 3d programs sparked interest in sculpting and allowed me to get more form into my paintings. Although I still love traditional methods in art, the innovation from the design side pushes me to be innovative in my art as well. Check in periodically to see how I blend the two in upcoming works.