Not the most flattering picture, but this is me, in Florence Italy, with some of my long-time art heros and friends, Jason Felix, Stephan Martiniere, and Ducco "King of Florence".  I have a pretty awesome life and career.

 

So this is where I'm supposed to tell you all the reasons why I deserve it.  How I did a gazillion years of school, a century of apprenticing, then worked my way up with discipline and tenacity through a thousand and one jobs, each only slightly less grueling than the last.  Clawing my way from nothing, to now stand atop a pillar of the skulls of my enemies and whatnot.

But that isn't true.  The truth is I totally lucked out.  I've taken a whopping one semester as an art major.  I only ever pursued art as much as it interested me.  However, that's really a lot.  I grew up with an obsession for creating.  Pictures, stories, music, and firey toxic messes with the chemistry set that was but one of the many horrors I wrought on my parents.  I was the kid who wouldn't shut up about his Wolverine vs. Predator vs. Alien vs. Batman vs. Terminator fan comic.  (True story.)

 

A pretty typical geek, my passions were comics, video games, Dungeons & Dragons.  Combine that with a super power of social awkwardness and top-shelf introversion, and you have my recipie for endless free time.  ...I mean success.

 

Jump cut to a couple decades later, and I'm living pretty much all my childhood dreams.  I'm a part of creating the worlds I love so much.  I travel the actual world and get to pretend to be a rock star.  My heros, old and new, artists and authors and even some movie stars, are now friends.  Despite my never having grown out of the awkwardness and such.

 

I didn't earn where I ended up, but I'm sure in love with it.