I recall my first professional assignment as an artist. While I was in my senior year at the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette, I painted a pocket watch for a billboard design to advertise Hub City Bank. I made one hundred eighty dollars. I've been making a living as an artist ever since. I was born in New Orleans the eldest son of six siblings. I came out the chute with a baseball glove in my hand though I was not as good as my father, who could have had a career if not for the war. I lived between two airfields, one civil...more