I am not going to refer to myself in the third person because that just feels a bit weird to me.
I was born in the bible belt in a land far away called Arkansas. Finally when I turned 17 I was able to escape and join the Navy where I was then stationed on board the USS Midway based out of Yokosuka, Japan. I believe that was a very important time for me since I was no longer chained to the society of the deep south and was able to see the world in a different light.
However I found myself back in Arkansas after I got my honorable discharge. From there I moved out of state and back several times until I finally ended up in the Dallas, TX area. From there I moved to Philadelphia (about 10 years ago) and have been here ever since. It was the best move of my life.
I currently work in the Office of Information Security at The University of Pennsylvania. I came to Penn back in September of 1999 as a temporary employee at the School of Nursing and then was hired full time in June 2000. From there I became Network Manager and then reclassified as Director of Network Services. Shortly after this I was offered my current job. I have the most fabulous job you can have being in IT at Penn. In fact our department Information Systems and Computing (ISC) was voted #4 best IT workplace in the US. The sacrifice I unintentionally made to come to ISC was worth it. What sacrifice? Well basically when I gave my notice to The School of Nursing my head exploded (panic attack followed up by 24/7 General Anxiety Disorder). I have this disorder to this day but am on good drugs now.
I have always felt that I had a creative soul but was never able to express it in a way that others could see it. This was very frustrating to me and left an empty void inside. And then November 2005 I got my nerves up and went to an art store and bought canvas, an easel acrylic paint and brushes. I was terrified to begin my first painting because I knew if it was horrible and didn't allow my to express myself I would probably not continue painting.
First Painting
My first painting isn't titled and uses only two colors (Black and Pink). I chose those colors to reflect the Yin/Yang to masculinity and femininity. To me these are balancing opposites.
On Deviant Art
Not the greatest painting in the world but when I looked at it after it was finished I realized it did in fact reflect what I wanted it to. So to me it wasn't a disaster. I continued painting.
I created several more paintings and was still a bit nervous that I would find my first attempt to just be luck and would not be able to continue my expression. I did several more paintings which weren't totally awesome but they also didn't totally suck either (to me, not everyone else. :) ).
And then came a turning point. In February 2006 I created a painting I called "Tamed Chaos". It was a lot more complex than the rest of my paintings up to this point and gave me a lot of new confidence. I was able to show chaos being controlled (at least in my own mind). This basically reflects how I view my own life. Maybe it is the anxiety I battle and try to maintain a somewhat normal life.
Tamed Chaos on Deviant Art
You will find a lot of my paintings reflect some kind of aspect of this one. This ended up being a series called "Tunnel Series".
Again I painted several paintings and switched my techniques around and was very satisfied with how my art was evolving. Some were a disaster but a lot weren't so I was happy.
Since I was beginning to feel a bit more comfortable with my expression I wanted to then go back and reflect on the pain of not being able to express myself earlier in my life.
Bleeding Soul on Deviant Art
And then in April 2006 I was able to reflect back with words as well.
Bleeding Soul - The Words
My soul inside it's bastion host,
waves of poetry splash against it's walls,
trapped forever,
tears from the rampart fill me,
but the other side is dry,
there is no more room
i stab my soul,
to bleed from me,
the poetry you could never see,
my palette leaks for all to see,
prisoner no more,
i'm free...
And then in May 2006 I became depressed and had no idea why. This is when I created a painting called "Depression's Mirror". I wanted to put on canvas exactly how I felt during this time and I feel it was pretty close. After the painting was finished my depression totally vanished. I'm not sure if that was just timing or if the finished painting helped me release something that fixed it. Who knows.
Depression's Mirror on Deviant Art
And then in June 2006 I created a painting in the "Tunnel Series" called "Dream". I feel this was one of my best accomplishments and those that have viewed my art seem to think this is their favorite.
Dream on Deviant Art
I can also think of this painting as my lucky one because someone came across it back in 2007 and put it in their art blog. I have never talked to the person who added this so I am not sure why they chose my painting but when I looked further I realized this was a very important situation. It is on the same page as Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. I'm sure that was just a lucky break. Later on I found out how lucky I was when one day I searched Google Images for the term Abstract Expressionism and my painting came up as third from the top. I was blown away, actually. It also shows up on the first page when searching for Abstract Art.
Abstract Expressionism on Wordpress
Photography
I really don't think I can even consider myself an amateur photographer! I can just barely operate one and get lucky sometimes. I feel midly obsessed with the differences between masculinity and femininity. Sometimes I feel strongly that I am stuck right in the middle. Both sexes have Testosterone and Estrogen so both sexes display both in some shape or form.
Tutu Girl
I'm sure a lot of people that I know will see the following image and want to laugh there asses off and it is okay. :) I haven't posted this until recently after deciding that I will not censor my own artistic expression. So there.
Tutu Guy
About a year and a half ago I became addicted to a game called World of Warcraft. It was the most fun I ever had while ruining my life at the same time. I pretty much played that game every waking hour when I wasn't at work and one day I looked in the mirror at myself and didn't like what I saw. I seemed to have aged 5 years and was gaining weight. I was horrified! So I disabled my accounts (9 of them..I was a multiboxer) and regained control again. I have two canvases in the works and have even finished a song I began workin on before starting Warcraft.
Music
I wanted another way to express myself other than painting so I began playing around with some simple software applications that let me either use loops or digitally create my own music. I didn't realize how important this would end up to me to help me relive my younger days as well as finding a way to make myself feel a bit more balanced (even if it is just a short term effect).
D Lane Taylor on Garageband.com
I created one song that allowed me to place notes individually and then combine them all to make a song. I can't remember the name of that software.
Happy Heart
A couple of dance tunes I created after purchasing Steinberg Sequel.
Oh Yeah This song actually made it to #11 on the dance charts during it's review period!
Journey to Androg This is the last song I completed.
Well, enough about me.
