S. C. wrote:
You know what gets me depressed? Is that in this life time I’ll never achieve that kind of perfection or even come close when painting something...
Your comment is deeply appreciated, Sean ... thank you very much.
But you know what? I said those exact words (almost literally) the very first time I attended an annual American Society of Aviation Artist's (ASAA) Forum which is where those interested get together to spend most of a week in fellowship. We do some art activities, and some social, but mainly it's a super way to hang out with like-minded individuals and compare notes and talk shop. We're literally a family for a few days, and I've enjoyed each one I was able to attend. We always have a good crowd, too.
The venue for the forums is always set at wherever that year's juried exhibition is held, which is usually aviation related, like the NMUSAF, or Edwards AFB, or Savannah's 8th AF Museum, etc. I got a late start, relatively speaking, in getting serious about my art, so I've been playing catch-up in the 10 years I've been "serious" about it. I had 'talent' before that, but it was undeveloped and earlier I never really had the motivation to really buckle down and work in color, for example -
too much work, what's on TV?? 
Then, out of the blue, over a period of a couple of weeks in 1997, I decided that it was now or never - at age 35 I made a commitment that I was going to hone my talent and see where it took me. Steep learning curve, to be sure,
which I'm still climbing ... but I've been blessed with excellent advice and honest critiques, mentors, artist friends, and of course the ASAA, which is dedicated to "excellence through education" for artists who paint aerospace subjects.
Anyway, that very first time in 1999 that we saw "that year's" best aviation artwork hanging all in one place live and in person at the Museum of Aviation at Warner-Robins, Ga., fellow "undiscovered" artist and then-new friend Russell Smith and I said to one another, well ... see your quote above! "Ain't no way", thought I. I recall looking at one painting that was simply beautiful in it's appearance and in the way the brushstrokes flowed in rhythm, and I wondered whether or not I would EVER be able to paint like that ... no, I never considered giving up, however. Actually, I was further motivated!
Encouragement from the "legends" like Keith Ferris, Paul Rendel, and the late Nick Galloway and the late Matt Jefferies, and sticking to it with an almost single-minded dedication (being older, I knew that with a little talent, and a LOT of hard work, almost anything was possible) enabled me to finally quit my full time job in 2003, and now, although at this period of my life my work schedule is reduced somewhat (till our youngest heads off to Kindergarten in a couple of years), I'm busy as ever and folks seem to like my work. Matter of fact, due to that "reduced schedule" I'm temporarily operating under, I'm turning down work on almost a weekly basis now. Russell, for his part, is now widely known and quite successful (as his trophy case will attest) in aviation art and his chosen genre, WWI, circles. See his work at
http://www.RussellSmithart.com.
Thanks again for your compliment, but for those reading this who are artists - heck, if I can do it, pretty much anybody with a bit of talent can do it, too! As a mentor told me over and over again a long time ago, "Just Keep Painting!".
Cheers!
Wade
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