"I mainly used crayons and markers to draw and doodle. As I grew, I began using pencils then sharpies. "
- What it means to me to be an artist & why a create -
Being an artist to me is being a conversationalist without using your mouth to converse. It is a means of standing up for rights deserved, expressing a certain way of thinking, or explaining a lifestyle all through details within a piece of art. An artist can be likened to an author, except in artwork, a story or stories aren't woven together with pages that must be flipped through. Yet, the artwork is a novel within itself.
I was highly motivated as a child to create, because I found artwork to be a great spokesman for me. It has always been one of the best ways for me to explain something that words couldn't exactly describe. So many emotions and messages can be brought to the attention of those creating and enjoying art and I love the feeling that comes with being a part of that.
- How I got started drawing -
I started by being mentored/influenced by Robert Norman Ross who hosted "The Joy of Painting" as Bob Ross on the "Public Broadcasting Service". That show has been played repeatedly on my television both as a child and even now, and it felt like he was talking directly to me through his painting tutorials. As a child, I mainly used crayons and markers to draw and doodle. As I grew, I began using pencils then sharpies. It would be nice to say that a light bulb went off over my head giving me the thought of using sharpies, but I can't. I had a strong urge to create something on paper and all I had to use, besides pens and pencils were sharpies. It's what was around and readily available. I practiced and practiced, and with each piece, I grew to be more and more fond of the work.
- The sharpies that I use -
I use many different tip widths including:
In addition, I use 25+ color variations, but it's important to note that not all tips have all colors. All of the sharpies are quick drying and permanent on most surfaces, however.
- The drawing surfaces -
I primarily use big, medium, and small “Canson: 1557 Drawing Artist Series” on which to work out my art. This is acid free, medium tooth and suitable for final drawings.
- The techniques I use -
My process involves first drawing my image with a pencil on my surface of choice. The primary focus at that point is to 'act' instead of overthinking. If my hands don't adequately produce the vision that I've created mentally, I can just erase any errors that occur - large or small. After getting everything down to my liking, I go over it with the different sharpies. It can be time consuming, but it’s a labor love so a rarely realize the time that has passed.
"Music is certainly a motivator in art. It gives a jolt to create, but mostly, my art is simply heart felt and spiritually motivated."
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- How I keep my skills sharp -
Besides watching YouTube for inspiration from artists I like or happen to find, I constantly stay in the motion of drawing. So, I'm either mentally working through concepts, visually reviewing inspirations, or physically implementing ideas. No matter how dull it may sound or appear, practice does make perfect.
- How I get in the mode to create -
Music is certainly a motivator in art. It gives a jolt to create, but mostly, my art is simply heart felt and spiritually motivated. Early on, my pieces were more focused on cartoons and abstract works with hidden meanings. As I've matured, my work is now mainly religious, directed by the Spirit. I hope to do art pleasing to the sight of God and allow the Lord to acknowledge His message within it. Here and there, I still do a few cartoon drawings or abstract pieces.
- The Blueprint: Examples of how I express thoughts in my art -
One piece that I named "2 Lips", has three separate tulips grown from one sprout. The two tulips on the outer sides are all white from the green leaves, and the top of the tulip in the middle is partially red, dripping to the rest of the plant. The red signifies the blood of Jesus the Christ received by the one, while being spread to the others. The middle tulip being the tallest also represents how God insures growth. The green leaves show how God remains within them, as His Creation, never diverting from His plan and direction, unlike man. Also, the use of tulips is meant to signify that you only need two lips to stand and grow through any good or bad weather. Through any past actions, redemption is still attainable.
"You never know which piece will be the one that touches someone and saves a life... or the world."
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Another piece, "Blessings Run Over", shows how God’s blessings overflow. The whole piece is decorated in 4 separate colors - black, white, a bit of purple, and as Sharpie has named it, "brilliant blue". It includes three cups, to signify the Trinity. The upper right is set with clouds, colored black, white, and brilliant blue separately and outlined in black. Through the right corner of the canvas, an arm and hand is down pouring “Holy Water” in a jug type container. The arm, God’s arm, is likened to the clouds but not outlined in black. This was done to show how nothing binds God or has Him between the lines. One cup is filled by God which overflows to the other cups, as well as the whole table. Different patterns and colors fill the cups and table to represent God’s Blessings being an overflow. Only the Holy Water poured from God is colored purple to share similarity to Jesus the Christ’s robe during His Crucifixion.
Farmville Community Arts Council Marquee honoring Author Michael Horne as Artist of the Month in 2018
- Where my art has been displayed/sold -
I have displayed and sold my art pieces at Farmville Community Arts Council located in Farmville NC, which I’m also a proud member of. In addition, I've had pieces in "The Emerge Gallery", and "Art Center", both also in Farmville, NC. I also displayed and sold art pieces in the "Charles County Art Fest", located in La Plata, MD.
- Advice I have for others interested in this form of art -
My best advice is to not hesitate but instead immediately begin creating once you decide it's something you want to do. Don't worry about mistakes or learning the perfect technique in the beginning, because the whole point of revising, checking over, and having rough drafts is for you to perfect the piece along the way. Just start. You never know which piece will be the one that touches someone and saves a life... or the world.
"Two significant responses from the community in particular fueled my motivation to engage youth directly in activities associated with writing and publishing their own books "
At Adelphi Elementary, in the 5th grade, I wrote a poem and in my excitement of my young literary accomplishment I remember enthusiastically sharing this achievement with my classroom teacher. To my surprise, I later discovered the poem I had written was published in the school’s newspaper. And thus began the first phase of my relationship with writing that stuck with me into adulthood. A relationship that would spark creativity and ideas that I would draw from throughout my life. Despite the ubiquitous nature of this relationship, it wasn’t until I published my first book in February 2014, Out of the Darkness: A Journey into the Marvelous Light, that I realized how much writing had been a part of my life growing up as a child. So, at the culmination of publishing my first book, the path leading to the next phase of my relationship with writing began to become clear, and I was intent on following it.
2014 was the same year two of my colleagues and I, from the community in which I served as an educator at Greenbelt Middle School, decided to launch a literacy campaign. The goal of the literacy initiative was to engage students, staff, parents, and the greater community of Greenbelt in activities related to literacy. The response of the community was overwhelmingly supportive, but two significant responses in particular fueled my motivation to engage youth directly in activities associated with writing and publishing their own books while learning about the entrepreneurial skills involving writing, publishing, and book marketing.
The first thing that happened involved meeting Rob Brown, who identifies himself as a book lover and operates his own TV studio interviewing local authors to help them with the marketing and promotion of their published books. Rob agreed to participate in one of my evening literacy showcase events to speak to the youth about his love of literature and why they should celebrate literacy. Rob invited the students in attendance, along with our school community, to submit their own short stories in a book format for him to judge and the winners (first, second, third place) would be announced at a later evening literacy showcase. The students of our school community responded with over 30 submissions and Rob was enthusiastically surprised by the number of students who participated. Little did I know it would be a foreshadowing of the direction my life would take personally and professionally from that point forward.
"The students of our school community responded with over 30 submissions and Rob was enthusiastically surprised by the number of students who participated"
The second thing that happened as a result of launching the literacy initiative included the community of Greenbelt inviting me to launch an after-school book club. The Advisory Committee on Education, or ACE, of Greenbelt, sponsored a book club after school that has been in operation the past 4 years since 2016. It was the first time I had been associated with a group of students who were eager, enthusiastic, and energetic about reading, discussing literature, and participating in writing related activities. It was also the first time in my career I was engaging in activities specific to promoting literacy and it was inspiring to see the genuine authentic reaction from students interested in these types of activities willing to meet after school to read, talk, and write about literature.
In 2017-2018 I invited my book club students to collaborate with me in co-writing and co-illustrating a children’s book involving a character I originally conceived when I was in college. A character that would travel the universe and learn about our solar system by visiting each one and interacting with the life forms they met while they visited. We spent the first semester of that school year identifying the format of how we would write the story and what the content of the story would include.
Tips I Learned for Helping Youth To Write
Tip 1: Provide guidelines to keep everyone focused on the goals and content of the storyline - In any group you may have very creative and imaginative writers who are limitless in their ability to think creatively and come up with a variety of ways to tell a story. Then you have some who are willing to write but need more assistance in developing their ideas in a way that helps them remain confident and comfortable with the process.
Tip 2: Remind the kids of their target audience - Our target audience was elementary age students, but the authors were middle school students with broader life experiences that inspire their creative desires but may not be conducive for a younger audience. At the time of writing this article, the children’s book project is nearing completion of the illustrations that go along with the manuscript that was completed at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. I was greatly impressed and alarmingly encouraged by the commitment and perseverance of the students to finish what they started and the students who have continued with me in ensuring the illustrations were completed. 2021 is the projected release date of my very first children’s book I dreamed of doing when I graduated from college.
As an educator it is extremely rewarding and fulfilling to have students participate with me in this accomplishment while helping some of them unlock their potential and be awakened to their own interests and passion to write, illustrate, and publish books.
My passion to write was now affording me the privileged opportunity to invite a greater number of students to engage in the activity beyond the group I worked with after school in the book club. Upon being named the new writing enrichment teacher, I had the honor of ushering Greenbelt Middle School to its first award-winning participation in a county wide writing program. And currently, the Howard County Arts Council and I are collaborating on developing a creative writing workshop for youth and adults to inspire more youth to write now. It is my sincere passion to instill in youth the understanding they don’t need to wait until they become adults to pursue and practice their love of writing and becoming a published author. I want them to know they can write now. Writing and storytelling are unique ways of developing one’s creative self-expression and is an integral part of how we live.
"A character that would travel the universe and learn about our solar system by visiting each one and interacting with the life forms they met while they visited."
Even if we don’t write ourselves, writing plays a huge role in our lives daily whether we are aware of it or not. From what we view on television and in movies, to the books, newspaper, and online articles we read, including the music we listen to contains the art or skill of writing. Writing is also a healthy outlet for expressing one’s views, thoughts, opinions, or emotions through journaling. Writing is a part of literacy and helps youth perform better academically when they can learn to write proficiently and effectively.
To be able to make use of my passion in inspiring youth and adults alike to write is not something I had imagined or planned, but I’m grateful for the experience.
"If I had to really put a fine point on it, I believe that world building is where many of my story arcs are born."
Warning: I do not recommend getting so caught up in world building that it becomes a project unto itself. This is only part of the process and should be treated as such. Speaking from experience, it is possible to become so obsessed with backstory that you never begin writing a story.
I’ve been asked where my story ideas come from, and there isn’t just one concrete answer to that. If I had to really put a fine point on it, I believe that world building is where many of my story arcs are born. In fact, knowing the world in which your characters exist is just as important as defining the people themselves.
When I started writing The Sunstroms, I knew up front that I wanted to tell a story about a superhero family, and I wanted that family to have a definite science fiction flavor that reminded me of some of the cartoons and comics I grew up with. But after the characters were named, drawn, and fleshed out, they needed an interesting narrative.
Author Gene E Willoughby II's Sunstrom's Work
Most of the ideas for that particular novel came from my notebooks. Now, before I go any further, I must admit that I have something of an addiction to composition books, and I own quite a few of them. All of these books contain pieces of what I call my “secret worlds”. If I remember it correctly, this started when I was in college working various retail jobs. I would always have a notebook with me, and when customer traffic was slow or I was on break, I’d be jotting down my ideas about new characters, locations, and super powers. Even now, I continue this practice at home while I’m watching the Lakers or replaying a favorite movie of mine.
As you are thinking about the world you plan to write about, ask yourself a series of questions. Is this world like ours? Are there any differences? For example, if you watch a show such as Power, the hyper-charged crime world is depicted as nearly identical to ours with few deviations. Conversely, the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have some important similarities, but the fact that super beings are possible in that world changes everything.
"I must admit that I have something of an addiction to composition books, and I own quite a few of them. All of these books contain pieces of what I call my 'secret worlds'."
If your universe is vastly different, then there are other aspects you should consider. What does religion look like? What about governments? Who or what group is in charge? How does the economy work? Is there special technology or magic present in your world? If so, how do those things work? What are the rules or laws? Are there any super abilities in your world and what are their strengths and weaknesses? How do everyday people earn a living? What is the state of their environment? When I am constructing an outline I end up pulling material concerning backstories, locations, and organizations from these notes, and my stories tend to evolve from these ideas.
This is part 2 in a series of articles on the topic of comic book development. Find all articles in the series linked below: