Hi, I like the art.

There's lots of ways to appreciate it

"Wow I just really like how that looks"

"I love the <x>"

colors, shapes, textures

"I love the <x>"

way this makes me feel

"The relationship of art and <x> is endlessly fascinating..."

technology, psychology, body image, society

There's no wrong way to like art.

And it's good for you.

Who didn't love illustrations?

I also like to make 'art'...

but ... well...

Let me tell you about that...

Personal stories ahead

This is pretty universal...

I stopped doing creative things around 15.

Why?
I wasn't the best.

There were other things.

Is this important?

My world was pretty small.

I thought I knew what my life would be and... I was pretty ok with it.

P: In what way are you qualified?

M: Well, my father was a mechanic, his father was a mechanic, my mother’s father was a mechanic, my three brothers are mechanics, four uncles on my father’s side are mechanics–

carpenter, carpenter, carpenter, union carpenter, carpenter, carpenter, carpenter, mason, mason, contractor contractor, carpenter

Uncles, cousins, grandparents/great grandparents in my family are like...

carpenter, carpenter, heating and cooling, plumber, mason, concrete worker, landscaper, hardware, plasterer, house painter, roofer

family friends are like...

Even as a kid I was helping out on stuff like this...

"This is just how it is."

Reality for a lot of my friends was similar..

Most of us didn't even stick around to graduate high school

her family were electricans :)

But then things started changing for me...

21.

Now... as it so happens...

The trouble with polite conversation...

Brian visits Vermont studio

"come work for me"

Long story short-ish...

Most of my actual work as an apprentice was menial, time consuming, organizational, and not very fun

He had a brand new computer, still in a box doing nothing.

There isn't a lot to do in Moretown, VT

pop: ~1500

I spent all my evenings drawing...

 ...or painting...

Learning the tricks...

 ...  getting new interests...

Really just... all over the place...

But also spending nights in the studio devising a system to make my work easier

And hey, let's get him on this new "web" thing too...

At the end of a year...

Kthxbye

Life...

Is this actually important?

fast-forward 13 years

If you start painting, you stop thinking about something else.

You can become engrossed in all kinds of different reasons to paint

You can become engrossed in all kinds of different reasons to paint
create

We create, right?

This is different?

wood print..

Rennovations

Trying to mimic other artists

Or just doing your own thing

This is not unique to me...

A few years ago...

Most gratifying accomplishment...

Plumbing.