Soon to be Widower needs your help
Artwork by Daniel Hammar
Hello everyone, my name is Daniel Hammar, I live in Tucson Arizona I am 55 years old. I am a medically retired disabled veteran from the US army. I have been married to my true love for almost 32 years, two children, a son 25 & a daughter 22. I would like to tell you why I hope to receive one of the Drawing Academy course prizes.
I will do my best to keep this short as possible. I have always loved to draw. When I was a kid, my father worked as a Draftsman. I was so fascinated watching him take a bunch of numbers, what I later learned were survey measurements and architecture notes. He would draw for hours and produce the most amazing diagrams, plans, and full final plan views of buildings and landscaping from all sides. I wanted to be able to do that too, but life seldom gives what we want. I have done many different Jobs in my life but never really learned to draw properly. Also, I’m also my own worst critic and have always tossed out most of my work. I had pretty much quit drawing until my wife had our first child, I started doodling again just for fun. Working & life never allowed much time to draw, until I injured my lower back and was no longer able to work. Drawing and sketching was one of the few things I was still able to do, and even that is difficult, because the longer I sit or stand in one place the greater my pain becomes. I get epidural injections every ten weeks so I can walk without having to use a cane or walker. In 2012 I started sketching and drawing a lot more while I was waiting for my wife during her cancer treatments, surgeries and long hours at the hospital. It soon became my main way to decompress from the stress of being her care giver. After my wife’s last PET scan I am forced to face the fact that I will probably lose my soul mate within the next year. (Oh that was hard to type!)
I’m doing my best to make this the best Christmas for her that I can. I’m also facing some harsh realities about my future that I hadn’t planned on. A few nights ago as I watered my pillow, just before I fell asleep, I ask myself “what am I going to do with myself without my beloved?” When I woke up I remembered seeing two things, the first was a bronze plaque with a line from my wife’s favorite movie “Death cannot stop true Love, It can only delay it a while” The other thing I remembered, I was sitting on the edge of a lake with an easel in front of me and my fishing rod and tackle a few feet away. I hadn’t intended to ask my subconscious a question, but it gave me the answer. So the answer is to finally learn how to draw correctly before I can progress to other mediums. Having my answer I started looking around for local classes, sadly, the cost is beyond my budget. Fact is, Cancer is as brutally expensive to treat as it is emotionally brutal to endure. Then my daughter suggested I look on you tube for some instructional videos. That is how I found Drawing Academy. I was compelled by the image of my dream, to go ahead and enter the contest even thou I don’t use any social media.
I feel the Drawing Academy is exactly what I’m going to need.
I need to have something to help me deal with the loss of my my wife.
I have a goal for the future and I need your vote to get their.
I feel extremely honored and very excited about being awarded one of the courses. Congratulations to my fellow winners, Juan, Debahuti and my fellow Veteran CJ, “OOH YAA”