Airing July 15th to July 21st on Positive Living Vibrations with Sara Troy and her guest StevieG
Discovery his art, StevieG takes on his journey on becoming an artist.
Stephen Goodman born Vancouver BC 1967 for about 10-12 years up until 5 years ago I wasn’t who I am now. I’m 47 but really in my 30’s. Up until 5 years ago I was looking after my mother,as she had mental health issues mainly bipolar. she died in march 2009 from Cancer and at this time she was in a home as she started getting worse and she could not be trusted to look after herself. 18-34 was a weird time for me as I never had a girlfriend and was to scared to ask women out. I had no friends really but in my late 30’s I would meet a well known Juno award winning musician. This eventually lead to meeting a guy by the name of Tyler Simpson http://www.observeone.com and we would become best friends.
Tyler was a talented photographer who is my mentor. I started going to a lot of music shows and hanging around the scene in my early 40s. I looked younger and fit in. I felt I had a place. I started taking photos of these many shows of the musician’s (hiphop RB artists) I felt fake in some ways. I started dressing in hiphop clothes that maybe someone 17-25 would wear. Meeting younger women was a confidence boosted. I would also then start meeting graffiti artists and going to art shows in Galleries such as the Fall tattooing and Ayden Gallery. I studied the culture through books and started photographing graffiti spots and found a voice there.
5 years ago I had Cancer in March 2009 the same month my mom passed from it. Testicle removed and we carry on….. I had started taking lots of photos of East Vancouver in B.C and loving the whole culture of it. I started getting into Street Photography and learning from Tyler. I slowly stopped doing hiphop shows and started finding my way. In 2010 I took off on a trip to NYC. That changed me.I started honing my skills and by taking thousands of photos became the artist I am now.
Ansel Adams said the first 10.000 photos will be your worst and am getting there. In 2011 I went to NYC again,this time with Tyler. we shot all over Harlem,Brooklyn Manhattan. Started going up to people almost right in theirs faces and photographing the moments. January 2012 at age 45 I get my second tattoo saying Eastvan, My first one in 2011 was Cancer Free. My third is a Ansel Adams quote (you don’t take a photograph you make it) May 2012 am I have part in my very first gallery showing with a few hundred people there for the opening. Summer that year I had a photo at another gallery this time as part of a book project called This is Eastvan. This was the second one and i had two photos in the book. New York City called me again this time getting the real Brooklyn experience. Summer 2013 I have had my photos in my favourite gallery Ayden. 5 years earlier I would never imagined I would be one of those artists that had theirs there.
47 years old finally figuring out who I am when most people do that between 18-30. Never married no kids I’m not a typical guy my age. Women think I’m 32 and that’s just the way I like it because I really am that person and not feeling like a poser any more. I aspire do do many things that the 20-35 set is doing. Burning man Basscoast on and on. I feel good in great shape loving who I am and I have started believing in the universe and embracing it more. My goals are to find a woman thats a artist like me into the same things and perhaps wants to move to NYC one day,but i’d be happy just living in Eastvan too. I working on a few things and hope to have my own show sometime soon. Oh I have even now had a photo displayed in a NYC gallery. Surreal. Life is good. I do have my ups and downs but pretty happy.
Link to show is just a click and INSTANT LISTENING.
Go to google and type in Welcometoeastvan StevieG this will bring up a video of me getting my east van tattoo and many of my east van photos. whew…thats me!
More on Sara and her Positive Living Vibrations shows go to positive-living-vibrations/
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