Just The Intern

OK, so I guess the first item of business to attend to is an explanation of the username. Yes? OK, here goes.

I am clearly much more than an intern (I am a human being with feelings. I love. I feel pain. etc. etc. blah blah blah). But, this position seems to have, for the time being, very definitely defined who I am as a person and, more specifically, as an artist. Being able to very acutely visualize my thoughts and imagination and apply those visions to paper has been both a blessing and a curse for me throughout life. This talent has opened many doors for me artistically speaking and also put me on a speeding straighline collision course with "destiny", if you want to call it that.

I have never for a minute thought to myself that I would drop illustration or any creative outlet available to me for something else. But, for ten years after high school, I did. I dropped that for being a political activist and organizer and I was the very stereotypical definition of the hippy-dippy Commie-Pinko radical liberal shouting to the heavens in the name of what's right and true. I believed every word of it then and I believe every word of it now. Every principle, every end-goal I fought tooth and nail for, I still believe in to the very core of my soul. What is throwing up giant questionmarks in my gosh-darned rational brain of mine is how we get to that point. That doubt over the last couple of years forced me to look inward and I realized I was missing something, a very integral part of who I am as a person. Art, illustration, creativity in the visual form.

Putting myself on that road, that path that I had resisted for so long, is an extremely scary and challenging position to be in. But, it got me to go back to school and deal with my issues with authority and discipline. It forced me to take a look at somewhat ethical issues of art vs. commerce in regards to where I want to be and how I want to, finally, use my talents. It brought me back to what should have been most important in my life, my friends and family, and not being afraid of confrontation, pain, and joy and success.

I have a regular job now (though five years of the same office is starting to grate on my nerves). I have the aforementioned internship, at Image Comics no less, the fourth biggest publisher of comics and graphic novels in the country. I have prospects for some great comic illustration jobs on the horizon. I'm struggling daily to keep my head above water financially, but at least I'm trying to do this life thing now and figure it all out along the way like I probably should've been doing a long time ago. Better late than never I guess.

I learned a lot in my time on the political frontlines. I'll never forget it and who knows. Maybe I'll get back out there one day. But, I have a lot more to learn before my time is up here and, hard as it may seem, I'm in it for the long haul.

See you all on the other side.