I actually have a direct memory of the beginning of my drawing days. It was second grade, Mrs. McAllister's class, and there was a kid named Kurt that put together a small comic book depicting some character going through his day (I believe at least partially inspired by the Mr. Men books that were popular at the time). At around this same time, I'd begun trying to piece together short stories involving some stuffed animals as characters (written on long strips of calculator paper scrolls), but had yet to try putting pictures to thoughts. Kurt had taken some paper, stapled it in half and created a blank comic book. Well, a kid whose last name I dont even fully remember (Kurt moved shortly afterward and I've not seen since) helped set me on a track that continued through decades of schooling, traveling and life.
Shortly after following suit to Kurt with my own comic book story, I began drawing more regularly. The stories then started focusing on swamp monsters, ghosts and other beings from the beyond - a natural progression, obviously.
Within a couple of years, I moved on to a longer comic book series, called Alien Cyborg Zone. It was a not-so indirect competition to my friend's "The War Zone", which had a similar scope but different plotline. It was as it should go within the mind of a young boy - friends masked as cyborgs and robots, uniting with their space-pets to help battle the evils that beamed down from the cosmos - complete with laser and bomb technology. Seemed innocent enough. I followed the series through for about forty or fifty issues, if I recall.
Moving into middle school, my focus was redirected (slightly), due to some help from the late-night MTV show Liquid Television, which I caught quite by accident late one night. My friend and I then started our own Liquid Magazine, which we steadily released bi-monthly for years, and then eventually releasing in shorter time intervals. Along with our self-DJ'ed cassettes that we handed around in middle school - aptly titled "Liquid" - we basically chronicled ourselves through years of voice changes, prog-rock exultation and volumes of fart jokes. The magazine had recurring characters and random artwork packed within the pages. Eventually we started making copies at the local library photocopier, and then started selling the magazine at a local comic shop that cropped up in town, tucked partially underground on a side street near the local bank.
This went on into high school, where the post-apocalyptic intergalactic invasion ideas seemed to dry up, and energies moved more toward the music world. Then the pen was put down for a number of years. Artwork just didn't follow through in punk rock as much as it does for me nowadays. But that's how it went, and I gave up drawing almost completely, until some time after college.
During an extended visit back home on the east coast in 2006, my hand seemed to re-awaken from a long slumber, quite suddenly and unexpectedly. I just started drawing again, for no particular reason at all. Further fueled by some inspiration and encouragement from a local friend, I kept with it and reconnected with my former passions - stronger than ever. Ideas became more streamlined and I felt the confidence and joy of the visual arts all over again. I got excited and started putting all my ideas under the name PsychoNot Art - a website followed soon after.
Starting with a spark of an idea, and eventually having a final creation carries with it more therapy than any shrink could ever offer. Riding that wave along the idea, the hand and the paper is an awesome rush. I hope you enjoy what you see even a quarter as much as I enjoy making it!
- MJ Woodis
(email: mjwoodis at yahoo dot com)
