I was born and raised in a small town in Maryland. I'm not from a big city, nor have I ever really been to one before, though I did drive through Atlanta once (which, by the way, helped me appreciate Durwin's frantic speeding through the bustling streets of NY in an over sized van all the more. Thanks again!) Because I haven't been to a big city, or because I have been so accustomed to living in a small one, I have never had any aspirations of ever having professional dealings in New York, let alone live there. Yeah, sure, I'd visit one day to see the sights, but starting a career there was entirely out of the question for me. That is, until our excursion from Savannah to New York last month.
I got off my train at Penn Station, smack in the middle of Manhattan. I will always remember the slow walk up the stairs of the train station to the streets. I don't know how long I stood there, looking up at the tallest buildings I had ever seen in my life. I'm sure it was long enough for several people to rudely shove me out of their way, but I didn't care. I was in New York. Looking back on the situation, the whole thing kind of sounds like a scene from a really cheesy movie or something, but like I said, I didn't care, I was in New York baby!I'm still not over the magnitude of the city, and I probably never will be. But throughout the trip I found that the scale of Manhattan seemed to fade into the backdrop as I met some of the most prolific and influential minds in the field of illustration: Vicki Morgan, Joe Ciardiello, Murray Tinkelman, Charles Hively, Ted and Betsy Lewin, Brian Rae, Nancy Stahl and Steve Tabbutt to name a few. I found each and every one to be right at home in New York City, succeeding at what they love to do in the most intimidating place on earth. When I talked with each one, they gave me more and more confidence that this place, for all its grand scale and spectacle, is very much conquerable. Each one fed my new found hope that not only can I survive in the Big Apple, but maybe, just maybe, I can find a professional niche as well.
I know I was only supposed to pick one event that really inspired me during our off campus trip, but for me, the most inspirational event was the entire experience itself (I know it's a cop-out, but bear with me.) Being in New York for the very first time and seeing not only the incredible scale of the city of the inter workings of the illustration market first hand has opened my small-town eyes. I know I don't have to live in New York to be successful, but judging from what I saw in my week there it is absolutely imperative that you are comfortable in that environment in order to visit clients, meet with art directors face to face, and to eat mountains of pastrami on rye at the Carnegie Deli! This trip has made me look forward to opening up my sketchbook each and every day, to push my artistic style to its boundaries, and to above all else love what I do.
Thanks everyone for a great trip.
– Mike O'Brien
