“Just as the bird sings or the butterfly soars, because it is in his natural characteristic, so the artist works.” -Alma Gluck
I think this is one of those quotes that perfectly embodies what you hope will describe a piece.
I completed this work this week after coming across a mural in the subway with butterflies and insects of various types in beautiful bright colors.
The butterfly was my first tattoo and to me represented my freedom as I stepped out on my own and into the US Air Force.
I won my first award for my work in the 1st grade after making a blue bird out of modeling clay, I won a little best in show trophy and I believe I had my photo taken by the little local paper with my 1988 crimped hair, courtesy of my mother.
Looking back it was in that moment that I knew I wanted to pursue art. After receiving a scholarship to art school and being unable to attend as my parents had nothing to help provide for me, my art went to the back burner and because merely a coping mechanism for the chaos happening around me. I believe we are the most honest as children before we are shaped by society. I knew as a child I wanted to be an artist,. About 6 years later I decided I wanted to become a photographic journalist for National Geographic after all the time I spent with my Grandparents and their huge National Geographic collection. I wanted my photos to end up in that magazine someday. That became my dream. Photographs are a moment of truth, not a lie to be told, it’s honest and real. You see the world how it is and that is what drew me back to photography these last 5 years now. It’s funny how we can make a journey of 20 years and end up right back to the moment where we started out in complete honesty.