When you are directing a film or designing for a massive live event, the goal is always to make the audience feel something specific. But how do you evoke a genuine response? You cannot simply engineer it. You must have lived it. The depth and breadth of human emotion requires a massive inventory of experience. This is exactly why most of the great painters of the Grand Tradition didn't reach their true zenith until they were in their eighties. They had to accumulate the miles. They had to suffer loss, experience ultimate joy, and feel the full spectrum of the human condition before they could accurately command it on a canvas. An artist has to live a life. You will eventually find your range, but you have to put in the time. For me, the ultimate amplifier of that range was fatherhood. When you have children, you suddenly feel everything they feel. The hurt, the sudden flashes of anger, the desperation, and the manic excitement of life. It physically rewires your empathy and unlocks emotional depths you didn't even know you possessed. When I am at the drafting table exploring an artistic idea today, I don't just think about the target mood. I embody it. I force myself to hold that specific feeling in my chest while I build the composition. The Grand Tradition provides the tools. The mechanics of lighting, composition, and color theory are what I use to build the visual framework. But the raw feeling driving those tools is entirely my own. Know yourself, know your people, and live enough life to fuel the work. — Notes from the Director

I'm really looking forward to joining this community! I know I'm going to learn a lot from all of you.