Epiphany and Self-Evolution

Many people have experienced a moment of epiphany in their lifetime, an instant when they have an understanding or realization that seems so profound, it takes their breath away. In those few moments a person can feel like they just touched the edge of everything that is known. Maybe they took a glimpse into the heart of what mankind could one day be. Can our own struggle for understanding and growth open, for a moment, a doorway between ourselves and some great divine existence? Could this knowledge be locked deep within ourselves, waiting for us to discover the key to opening its door? Perhaps these moments of clarity are the result of a person’s step by step progress towards their own self-evolution.

We reach out to the stars and explore the depths of our oceans looking for answers; perhaps it is in the deep dark recesses of ourselves we should be searching. What wondrous secrets and bits of information might be stored in the unopened closet of Humanity, waiting to be discovered if we would only go seeking it! Will mankind stretch the reaches of its own imagination to challenge the boundaries of our understanding? Or will we choose to float, dormant in a sea of stagnation? Great peace and awareness may lie ahead, should we strive to attain it. Can you, by your own persistence and desire, break beyond the doorways that separate us from a more enlightened existence? Are we, ourselves, the obstruction that blocks the pathway to greater consciousness?

I believe it is the individual, themselves, who must free their mind and spirit to grow and learn. A person can be taught how to find their way, but only when they choose the path themselves, can they truly evolve. I have had my own personal epiphany. I have stood at the edge of reality and touched the stars. I have walked along the streams of awareness that link us to our creation and Creator. Humanity closes their eyes and ears to the future while I have peeked through the window and have seen a glimpse of what comes next. There is a world of difference between knowing something and understanding it; knowing gives us a concept while understanding gives us the reason. With reason we develop purpose and with purpose we can then find understanding in our existence.
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Dinosaurs are extinct:

Why do we continue to repeat the same failed process or make the same mistake and expect a different result? I have observed time and time again throughout my life people and businesses that seem to believe they can grow and thrive by continuing to do or produce in the same day-to-day manner they have for years. Even under the best of conditions, with ideal economic times, failing to adapt and change to the world around us is certain extinction.

Species, society, business or individual, the same principal stands true; you must evolve. To exist by only listening to one philosophy, have you really learned anything? When you live on a planet covered by ocean, you should learn to swim.

If a company only produces one line of product, or explores and develops with a single idea, what happens to that flat earth philosophy when it is discovered that the earth is round? When you, your business or your work are not learning, creating, exploring, discovering and growing, you cease to evolve and begin to die.

Brush and Canvas to Drag and Drop (Old School to New School)

Once upon a time, before the age of Photoshop and Illustrator, photographs were taken on film and developed in a darkroom, designs drawn on a sketch pad and the whole mess came together taped to some editors art board. There is and always will be a conflict between tradition and innovation. I can imagine how hard it must have been for the inventor of the pen to convince a population of quill users how wonderful and useful this strange new, unproven, device would be.

My first formal training was in High School, about 25 years ago. I took Art, Drafting and Photography. This was a natural choice since I had been sketching and painting almost obsessively for as long as I can remember. My teachers, both masters and freelance professionals in their fields, took an interest in me and I was soon stumbling along after them as an assistant from fashion shoot to Designers studios. For the next three years I followed my mentors on every job and assignment I could.

From the master photographer I learned how to take photographs on a variety of manual film cameras. Trained to develop those images in a dark room and perform techniques like dodging and burning and masking, old school. My mentor explained every philosophy and technique he could, often referencing detailed outdated methods we ourselves never used.

From the artist and designer I learned to appreciate Da Vinci, Van Gogh and Warhol while painting signs, creating P.O.P. displays and designing “Wine of the Month” circulars. Schooled in pre-press paste up board layouts and photo plate printing while I painted with pallet, brush and canvas.

Today I shoot on an Olympus D.S.L.R., manual mode with all the bells and whistles turned off in RAW format. The photographs are processed in my computer darkroom with only the slightest tone or exposure adjustment, and saved in the proper format and manner for its intended use. My illustrations sketched out on paper, scanned and redrawn in illustrator creating the sharp clean lines needed for the commercial market. I still sketch on paper, paint with brush and canvas and airbrush creations on a variety of mediums.

Creation and the Creative Process should be about respecting and appreciating the classics, those who have traveled before us. Explore and embrace the new, find the style of expression that fits the Artist that you are. Develop your own methods in the mediums that suit you. Find your place and grow!