Coming Full Circle

Has it been almost a year since I last posted? Yes. Yes it has. Time sure does fly. Where to start though? I’ve had this website for a few years now and it’s gone through so many changes it’s hard to keep track of.

There’s probably no one reading any of these posts anymore (not like there were many before) but here it is, my first post of the year! It’s been an interesting year to say the least so this will just be a quick update on what’s been happening.

Back In The Day

If you read one of my earlier posts about how I became an accountant  you’ll know that as a kid my dream was to become a comic book creator. I wanted to be the next Stan Lee (R.I.P) or Todd McFarlane. Those were my heroes. Not the superheroes that they created but rather the people creating them. A lot of my time was spent reading comics, making stories, and drawing them. As the story goes, I gave that dream up before I even really got started. All in pursuit of a “normal” career. The normal career job being accounting. Safe, steady, decent money.

Throughout my high school, college and post graduate studies I did dabble occasionally in writing and art but nothing more than as a hobby.

After finally finishing my education and professional certification (only took 13 years)  there was something in me that still yearned for a creativity outlet. This blog became my platform and writing my outlet.

Return to Creating

It felt great to write again. With the blog also came a need for pictures. Stock photos were great but I wanted a personal touch so I bought myself a camera and started taking my own pictures.

To my surprise I fell in love with photography. I’ve always liked taking pictures, but having a decent camera opened up a whole new world of options. I learned the basics of photography as fast as I could but quickly found myself drawn to surreal photography and the visual arts. There was a certain freedom to creating these types of images, and I loved the process.

Combining Photography and Writing

Photography alone is a craft that you can spend your whole life learning. Writing is the same. I found that I enjoyed them both so I thought why not create something where I can combine the two?

I started creating surreal photos and then brought them to life through writing stories. By combining two things I loved to do, I thought I had found my thing, but everything changed early this year when I did some spring cleaning.

It Was Always Comics

My parents wanted to re-purpose my old room so I had to get out the last of my things. One of those things was my old stack of comics. It had been probably 15 years since I last went through them so I sorted them out, priced them, kept the ones I wanted and sold the ones I didn’t.

Going through the comics re-ignited this fire in me. I don’t think the fire ever went out. It was just buried deep down. I’ve always loved comics, the medium, the art, the stories, everything. I might not have known it at the time but I think I was trying to find my way back to them all along. There is no medium that blends writing and visual arts more effectively than comics. It just took me finding my old collection to make the connection.

Something clicked in me. I’d been doing writing and photography for the last little while trying to combine words and pictures and then it just came to me. Comics idiot, you’re supposed to be making comics. Duh! It’s always been comics. Everything had finally come full circle.

Maybe it was because of the experience I had when I was a kid that caused me to give up the dream. Perhaps there was a shadow of doubt still hiding somewhere within me. For whatever reason it never occurred to me to try again.

The Road Ahead

Since that moment earlier this year everything has changed. I’ve been immersing myself in comics again. Not just reading them but learning them all over. It’s going to be a long road ahead. It’s taken me a year to write 5 issues for a comic series I’ve been working on. I’m pretty sure it’s garbage but I’ve learned so much writing it.

There’s still so much to learn but I’m loving every minute of it. The dream is back but it’s no longer a dream, it’s a goal in progress. The road ahead will be long and hard, but there’s nothing stopping me now except for myself.

It’s funny how things work out isn’t it? How a simple chance act of spring cleaning could re-ignite an old dream. I don’t think our true dreams or passions ever die, they just lie latent, patiently waiting for an opportunity to awaken, or for us to muster the courage to follow them.

Don’t let those sparks die out, because I truly believe it’s never too late  to pursue your dreams.

As for this blog I hope to update it when I can. Moving forward I’m going to use it more casually as a way to write what I learn as I go down this creative journey.

~ LET’S CHAT ~

Anyone else out there creating comics or writing stories? Let me know what you’re working on in the comments below. I

~ LET’S CONNECT ~

Don’t forget to say hello on Twitter @HeyPSbarbosa or if you’re more visually oriented come follow me on Instagram @psbdaily I’ll be sure to do the same.

If you like what you’ve read and want to stay current be sure to subscribe to the blog so you’ll never miss a post.  I always love hearing from people so don’t be shy to leave a comment or just say hello, happy pursuits!

Paolo