I became an artist by accident, really. When I was in  grade school and finished my work quickly, I would talk to the other students (whether they were done or not); you can see how this could disrupt the class. My teacher suggested that when I'm finished that I draw her a picture...of anything I wanted for her. This resulted in a "special pencil" (it had my name on it) and loads of extra credit. To be honest, after the second grading period, I probably could have s;lept for the rest of the year and still passed to the second grade; but that's just a matter of conjecture. That was 27 years ago and I haven't stopped creating since! Art is my preferred method of expression and I find it more challenging to be able to invoke emotion just by a single moment in time being frozen by a pencil, pen, or paintbrush (sculptures too) than to write a song that simply sounds angry, sad, or hyper (I'm a musician also).

At present I'm a Mold Inspector/Remediator by trade and my ultimate goal is to be able to create full time; you'll most likely find this is consistent with all of us who have not acheived this as of yet. Once I am able to do so, through the sales and exhibition of my art, or music for that matter, I will have acheived independent wealth...and that my friends should be everyone's goal.