Three things have conspired to make me the
artist I am today:
1) The joy of creation.
2) Clients with deadlines.
3) The threat of starvation.
There is nothing in the world that teaches you
how to draw like being a freelance illustrator.
I’ve done it for nearly 50 years.
Here’s how the business works:
Ring-a-ling-a-ling.
(Old fashioned phone ring)
“Hello, this is Dan.”
“Uh wha-wa wah WAHwuh,uh wuhhh ?”
(That’s an ad agency asking me
if I can illustrate a particular
THIN in a particular
MEDIUM
and a specific STYLE —
often one that I’ve never
tried before.)
“Sure, I can do that.”
(The answer was always
“Yes!” )
“How much? No problem!
By tomorrow? You bet!
Okay, Bye.”
Click.
Up most of the night.
New technique mastered.
Job delivered.
On time.
Although most of what I do
these days goes under the heading
of Fine Art, I still do some
illustration from time to time.