I live in Milwaukee, WI and I'm 42. I have loved to paint, draw and sculpt since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I still remember my father letting me make some of my first drawings on the drywall he had installed in my bedroom. I was not yet in school. I was educated as an artist and I was a professional illustrator for 11 years but then I had to do....other things. Currently, I work as an artist/installation tech (art rental roady) for a company that rents sculpture and portable murals for special events. I have been searching for a different job for the past 2 years. I think I'm pretty close but I'm not placing any bets. I have 2 kids, 5 years old and 4. I will be divorced in June which has caused me a lot of distress over the past 8 months but it's getting better. I guess it's the worse thing that has happened in my life. I never expected to be starting over but then again, who does?
I bought my 14 just about 12 months ago (recognize the coincidence?). Previous bike was a Kawi Vulcan Classic 900. I've also done a fare amount of riding on my father's Vulcan Drifter 1500 and I hope he will hand the keys over to me some day when he's done with it. A sportbike is what I've always wanted to ride. I actually almost bought one back in about 1991 but insurance would have been so expensive and I was living in a high vehicle theft zone of the city. The 14 has proven to be everything I ever dreamed of in a motorcycle. It's honing my skills to levels I never thought I would try to attain. After 6000 miles, there is still plenty of things that I have not experienced on the bike but I am pretty surprized by what it has shown me so far. I enjoy doing maintenance as much as I like to ride. I do some high speeds fairly often so I feel paying extra attention to maintenance is pretty important. Also, I hope to keep the 14 a long time.
My hopes for the near future are to begin to do some artwork again. The spirit has fizzled out in me over the past few years but this isn't from lack of ideas or even time. I just don't belong to any community that appreciates what I do and have done. That will change. The art spirit can't be destroyed, I don't think. I have tried to not be an artist at least three times in my life. Each of these periods has lasted over a year. It always seems to come back. I'd like to reestablish the business contacts I developed as an illustrator and have another whack at it. I'm eager to explore the world of digital art media which I had been resisting for last 20 years.
I'd also like to own a second bike. I'm sure you'll hear all about that in posts on the other forums here.
Rook
* Last updated by: Rook on 4/3/2009 @ 9:28 PM *