toon the beginning

A little about me 

When i was very small i was drawing, mom says i was drawing those cartoons as she puts it as far back as she can imagine. But here is a story i always tell as one of my first memories of doing so. I was eight, and I was in the Hospital with Pneubar Pnemonia (forgive spelling) i was very sick and feeling down. I had a fever of 104 plus, some say that fried the brain and well what you see is what you get. My mom told my dad to go to the store and buy me some toys and stuff to play with. 

He came back with the typical toys but had with him some paper and pencils, I think i remember my mom saying what is he going to do with those, a more grown up thing these pencils were. I took them and immediately drew a shoe. My dad was shocked, that really looks like a shoe, i was eight. why a shoe i don't know, i mean knowing me it should have been a naked woman, (kidding) 

I remember being home one weekend and starting a new school. My friend Kenna was visiting and i received a letter from my old high school, I had written as a joke saying i miss them and wish i could have published my cartoon strip the Bionic Watermelon in their school paper before i had left. They offered to do so, all I had to do was send them the drawings each week. My friend wasn't happy because i asked him to wait while I drew some and then we could go to a movie, or whatever after I was done. Ha ha i put him on hold to start my career.

I was in college, and the WHOLE reason going to the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale was they had a cartooning course, by the time I got to the class I had done many projects for this teacher and he told me I didn't have to come back to the class cause he said I was already a cartoonist and I would get an A no matter if i showed up or not. I was kinda miffed, i wanted a cartooning class. One teacher who was a photography teacher said you did well in my class, you surprised me on how well you did but (pointing to my portfolion during portfolio review) this she said is who you are, nothing else matters.

Some of my heroes are not amongst us any more, Charles Shultz and Johnny Hart. But i hope i can be like them some day. But in the meantime I have a great job, cool people to work with and a cool cat at home. :)