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Life
Sketching
Stephen Bergstrom
sbergstr@san.rr.com
Chapter
One: And So It Begins…
"Wow, that's a cool drawing. You should do that for a
living."
"Why
are you doing this job when you draw so well?"
I've been hearing that, or words to that effect, for most
of my adult life. I've been doodling, sketching, drawing,
and painting for as long as I can hold a pencil and brush.
For me, drawing and sketching has been an integral part of
my existence, taking up a good portion of my non-working time.
At least, it had been up until two years or so ago.
I don't know what it was. Maybe it was the increasing pace
of my increasingly stressful jobs. I had gone from a relatively
stress-free job, a custom picture framer, into a hospital
setting as a unit clerk (in a mental health ward, mind you.
I could take up an entire chapter on this job), to an accounting
office as a clerk (not that stressful, really, but it was
about as exciting as watching thumb-wrestling), to becoming
a manager in a custom picture frame shop (the circle is now
completed). I think it was that last position that really
started making my hair fall out.
Before I realized what was happening, I wasn't spending my
free time drawing. I was either sleeping, eating, watching
television, or playing computer games. I was becoming a typical
American consumer! ARRRGH!! Actually, I got pretty good at
the games part. To this date, you don't want to face me in
minesweeper. You just don't. I still game to some degree,
but now it's mainly Diablo II (who knew there was a form of
electronic crack?). My fiancée had noticed the changes
right away, but she kept quiet, thinking it was just a phase
I was going through and that I'd work out of it.
Well, duh, I didn't. I kept up the stressed-out worker routine
until it got to the point where my significant other couldn't
take it anymore. She dropped the relationship bomb on me.
I was going to find another job, one I actually liked doing,
or she would bail out. As much as it would hurt the both of
us, she would leave. Yeah, that hit with all the emotional
impact she intended it to. I'm not insensitive, at least,
I don't think I am, but the fact that I couldn't see her having
to deal with me as "slug-boy" really made me look
at myself in a rather unpleasant light. You see, when we first
met and fell in love, I was constantly cracking jokes, making
puns, or otherwise being humorous. All that went out the window
with my new jobs. All of a sudden, I was being a real homebody.
The only times I would even be a portion of my old self was
when we had company over, so naturally my fiancée would
invite friends to call as often as possible.
One turning point came in the summer of 2001, when two of
my closest friends decided to sponsor me in a local art show.
This act of kindness took me completely by surprise, and made
me realize just how much drawing I hadn't been doing. The
first art show I had ever entered consisted of work that was
mostly a year old or older. Talk about feeling sheepish, lambish,
goatish, any small livestock-ish will do. I had managed to
do some small things to supplement the entries, but I simply
hadn't gotten back into the groove yet.
At the time of this writing, I am still with my fiancée,
although the deadline for me finding a new job is December
of this year (2002). I am committed to procuring the kind
of job that I can take on as a career, not just an occupation.
That means I'm trying to find work as a graphic designer or
illustrator. No, I'm not crazy or suicidal, for those of you
already in the industry. At least, I don't think so.
I'm also entered in the local art show for this year. I'll
be honest, it's for a comic-book convention art show. Okay,
okay, okay, so I like drawing muscular men in tights. If I
weren't so darned secure about my sexual identity, I'd question
myself, too. Once it gets closer, I'll reveal the location
and time of such. If you really, really, want to spend the
day with a bunch of comic-book fans (read: geeks).
I'm
going to use this column as a means of keeping my focus. In
this way, I can educate those of you who might be in the same
boat vocationally. You don't have to be under the gun from
a loved one, but in my case it helps.
Now, for a little bit about my background. I grew up reading
comic books, and for the longest time that's what I wanted
to do with my life; that is, draw comics. Hey, if reading
Batman© could be a profitable endeavor, then hey, you
got yourself a candidate right here. Needless to say, most
of my artistic talent is in pen and ink illustration. My formal
art training consists of a handful of community college courses,
including life drawing (woo hoo! Nudity!), color theory, and
a whole lot of freehand drawing. In college, I wasn't terribly
focused on classwork. You see, I didn't want to be there.
I was being forced by my father to go in order to stay on
his health insurance. Okay, it was with my best interests
in mind, but when has that ever been a consideration in the
mindset of a teenager?
Did I mention that this column is, in all likelihood, not
a how-to kinda deal? It's more of an "ouch, I think I
can avoid that sort of pratfall" column. I'm a bit like
a scrubbing bubble; I work hard, so you don't have to.
Back to me. It's all about me, didn't you know? In the late
1990's, I joined the twentieth century and got a computer!
Tah-dah! This way-nifty electrical device made it possible
for me to get into all new sorts of trouble by learning Photoshop,
Corel PhotoPaint, and the various draw programs. Of course,
I'm still probably considered something of a techno-hick,
since to this day, I haven't even touched a graphics tablet
(insert shocked gasp here). It probably shows in my work,
and I am going to purchase one eventually (i.e., in the next
six months or so, unless some altruistic soul reading this
column feels enough pity on me to actually donate one {working
model} to the cause).
Over the next few columns, I'm going to go into sick detail
into how I'm attempting to 1) go back to school and attempt
to achieve my Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design, 2) find
a job, temporary or otherwise, that will allow me to pursue
item number 1, and 3) maintain something resembling a nominally
functioning social and/or romantic life. Huh, not too difficult,
I figure.
I'm also going to put together my very own electronic portfolio,
the unveiling of which will debut right here on this very
site.
Well, I think you now have enough information to know that,
up to this point, I've been anything but serious about finding
a job in the graphics industry / illustration field. If nothing
else, this should be good for a laugh.
All right then, into the breach!
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