My Story
“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” - William Foster
Art has always been “my thing”. I grew up in a family of four brothers fairly close in age. If you’re familiar with the children’s book “The Five Chinese Brothers”, then you can appreciate my family dynamic. As the story goes, long ago in China lived a family with five brothers who resembled each other very closely. They each possessed a special talent. One could swallow the sea; one had an iron neck; one could stretch his legs; one could survive fire; and the last could hold his breath forever. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any superpowers but like the five brothers we each found our own strengths. Jeff was the acupuncturist, Mitch was the shooter, Doug was the pilot and I was the “artist”.
My brothers and I were extremely fortunate to have a mother who always encouraged our individual pursuits and a father who could teach and guide us. We grew up in an environment much like the Wild West. As a child refugee of war torn China, my dad never really had a childhood. He essentially became the fifth Chinese brother whose strength was a massive brain! The five of us played with fireworks, BB guns, wrist rockets and model rockets. If it was dangerous, we were all in! While other kids were playing with G.I. Joes, my dad was bringing home sheets of aluminum so we could make swords and knives using a bandsaw. My Mom’s rule was that if we wanted a BB gun we had to go the library, check out a book and write a report on it. Let’s just say we learned a lot back then! When I expressed an interest in growing crystals, my dad would bring home bottles of chemicals like copper sulfate, potassium ferricyanide or copper acetate. I didn’t learn about respirators, safety glasses or ear protection until my late 20’s! Since our neighbors didn’t appreciate the bricks of firecrackers that our grandfather brought over on the weekends, we moved on to “poppers” commonly know as “bang snaps”. When stepped on, ignited, or thrown on a hard surface, they produced a small explosion similar to that of a cap gun. Somehow, my dad figured out how to make them. Unfortunately, they were so sensitive that a ray of sunlight was enough to detonate them. We built balsa wood airplanes, plastic models and Estes rockets. Of course my dad the mad genius had to take the rockets a step further. He proceeded to show us how to make an RPG out of PVC pipe, hose clamps, a battery and a switch. Yeah, good times for sure!
When I was younger, drawing, painting and sculpting just came naturally to me. I consider myself extremely fortunate in that I was able to find my path very early on in life. While my peers struggled to find their confidence on the field or in the classroom, I had the privilege of being noticed for the abilities that the good Lord has blessed me with. One day when I retire I will return to painting and sculpting but for now I am extremely happy building my small world of one-offs.
Thank you for visiting my site and I hope you find the inspiration to take on a project of your own.
- Dave
Super racist illustration and NOT what we really look like!