Ok, so where'd I leave off? Oh, yeah, Walt Disney. What does Walt Disney have to do with my interest in wildlife art? Well, I don't remember exactly what age I was when my parents first took me to see Walt Disney's Bambi but I was very young. But even at a very young age the struggles of the young deer, and the beauty of Tyrus Wong's art, struck me. After that, deer became my favorite subject to draw, especially Bambi and his friends. For a long time wanted to draw almost nothing but deer. This led to a fondness of other hoofed animals as well ... elk, moose, antelope, giraffes, horses ... I drew them all.
As I got a little older and my father took me horse back riding more and more I started drawing horses more then deer. I fell in love with horses and when I was 13 years old my father finally caved from all my begging and pleading and bought me my first horse. That was it. That's all I cared about for the next decade, horses! I no doubt drew a gazillion pictures of horses during that time.
Eventually, however, I started to outgrow horses. I'm not sure why but somewhere in my 20's I turned back to nature and wildlife. I started spending more time out in nature again, hiking and camping and traveling the scenic routes of California and visiting national parks throughout the west. I took classes on wild edibles, native flora and fauna, and wilderness survival. Deer and other wildlife once again became a favorite art subject. I started to dream of doing art for a living. But then reality set in.... (More in Part 3)
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