Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday…
Actually, I was born on a Wednesday… Anyway… I was born and raised in Northern California, played tuba in marching band, did the Boy Scouts thing for a while. Joined the Navy when I was 20 years old, was a computer technician. Pretty good one if I do say so. Did a Med deployment and had a pretty good time during that! Not to mention that I’ve seen Top Gun about 187 times, and it keeps getting funnier! Every time I see it!
Oh, and I’m a bit of geek. Do you think I’m qualified?
So, I’ve been doing professional art and semi-pro voice work for the better part of 25 years at this point. Before that, I was a complete amateur. I did caricatures at the World-Famous San Diego Zoo for a while during my college years.
After that I worked at a film company that did colorization of old films and 3D conversion on newer ones. That’s where I met my wife, and the mother of our rambunctious son Glenn, Bonnie. Our first date was San Diego Comic-Con. Yeah, I know. After a couple years, we got married, and really started our life together, including starting our business, Kilgore Art and Design. She has provided muse support for a very long time. Oh, and the kid. He’s awesome. And crazy. And artistic. Not sure where he gets it from. Probably his mom. I have a plan for a future cartoon series…
…and now, your Moment of Glenn™
®©2014-∞
So, anyway, a little professional background, other than what I’ve already told you… I have worked as a graphic artist for production on almost every substrate. Mostly freelance, but I’ve worked on professional sports apparel. Their color specifications are not to be laughed at. HAHAHA
Paper, signs, posters, vinyl, car wraps, shirts, hats, and yes, I even did designs for a glass eye one time. I’ve done logo packages, comic books, digital paintings, private commissions, photo manipulation/retouching, caricatures, 3D modeling and animation, vector illustration. Illustrated a forty page children’s book about an anthropomorphic fire engine and his favorite human. Engineered and cohosted a political podcast for a few years. I’ve hand-colored tattoo flash, drawn menus on those luminescent black boards at restaurants…
And, lots and lots of book covers. Interior illustrations too.
I suppose you could call me an artistic scientist. I love to cook too. It’s just like art to me. And I experiment a lot. Not always successfully. Same goes for the visual art, too LOL. I have always had a fascination with science. I was a big space nerd as a kid. Pretty much still am. Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, the Shuttle program, ISS, Hubble, James Webb. I think that contributed to my love of sci-fi so much. And to being a computer tech, in all likelihood.
“Science fiction [Artist’s note: I would include all fiction in this] is an existential metaphor that allows us to tell stories about the human condition,” Isaac Asimov once said, "Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinded critics and philosophers of today, but the core of science fiction, its essence, has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all."
Star Trek (specifically The Next Generation due to my age and situation at the time) allowed a necessary escapism. It was also a gateway drug to Asimov, Bradbury, Burroughs, Heinlein, Anthony, Tolkien, Herbert, and so many more that gave me the desire to tell stories.
I have a love of good storytelling. Imaginative storytelling. When I read something and it makes me want to try and paint the picture that’s in my head, I consider it a good day.
To me, visual art tells a story.
More to come…