The Meaning of Life over Burritos - Part 1

So the other day I received a call from a good friend of mine whom I have known for 20 years. (Wow, I just realized I have known him for almost half my life.) He lives right down the street from where I work so on occasion we get together for lunch. It's a nice break during the week to step away and just hang out with my friend. We have been through a lot together. In high school we were in a band. There was 5 of us in total. We really created some amazing friendships from that band. We were good, but not great, but played some really great gigs. The only people I keep in touch with from high school are those 4 other guys. Some of them I see more frequently than the others, but when we get together, it's like no time has passed at all. They are part of my family.

So we went out for lunch. It was great to see him but I could tell he wasn't himself. He seemed lost or unsure. "When we were in high school," he said, "...we could go to the guidance counselor if we needed some help in figuring out where we should go to college." "When we were in college, we could talk to an assistant to guide us on our way so we could graduate." "Now we are in our mid-30's, we graduated from college, got married, had two kids, bought a house, have had three or more jobs. Now what?" Where do we go from here was the question. It is quite the juggling act when you are a coworker, father, husband and a friend. Your time is usually prioritized in that order too. Not by choice, but by necessity. Your time for you wife diminishes as soon as you have kids, and your time for friends is nearly none existent. It happens slowly, but it happens. What is even more derailing is that you become so focused on everyone else, that when the occasional opportunity arises for you to do something for yourself, you have forgotten who you are. This is not my house? This is not my beautiful wife? Where do I go from here? Do I really want to do this job for the next 30 years? Do I really want to live here? Is this the precursor to a mid life crisis? We joked that if that were the case, then neither one of us could afford the sports car. All of this sounds a bit depressing and in some ways it is, but in another way I think we are reaching a cross road in our lives. We just need to figure out which way we should be going and men are usually not very good at pulling over to ask for directions.

Concept Sketch - Tower Defense

The armies of Hades have torn down trees from the great forests of Elysium, scorched the golden fields and constructed towers and defensive walls as they march to destroy the greatest heroes of Greek Mythology.

Eternal Flame Concept

Concept sketch of an eternal flame & Door for the City of Lost Souls located prior to the river Styx. For some reason, the figure I put in for scale ref has taken on the form of Batman. What can I say, Batman is cool.

The frog creatures of Titan Quest Immortal Throne inhabited the swamp & marshes of Ancient Greece. These primitive, but clever little creatures constructed huts from the tall reeds and grasses in the swamps. Crudely formed pots & vessels were made from the abundance of clay in the soil and glowing starfly nests were attached to strung reeds and used for lanterns. These critters may seem unassuming and cute, but when attacked in groups, these frog creatures can chew you down to your bones. Be careful!

Concept Sketches 02 - Ruins w Creep

Black tar goo is bubbling up from underground forcing skeletal remains from burial sites to rise to the surface. This stuff grows like vines to consume and devour any living thing that gets stuck in it. A small crow has recently discovered that fact.

Concept Sketch 01 - Post & Beam Rome

Well it recently dawned on me that I haven't posted any artwork of my own on this blog, so here's some stuff. This is a sketch of a Roman alleyway that I did for a Titan Quest 2 project. The TQ2 storyline was based on an alternate Roman time line with fantastical mythological creatures. The city of Rome had endured a number of mysterious earth quakes and as you can see, the citizens quickly constructed a framework of post & beam supports all throughout the city to help the weakened stonework. There are also some giant wooden gears and pulley contraptions that reflect the influence of the great engineer, inventor & astronomer, Archimedes.