Louis Q“ Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~Berthold Auerbach”
“ The creative adult is the child who survived. ~ Ursula Leguin”
“Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible. ~ Frank Zappa”
“Creativity is intelligence having fun. ~ Albert Einstein”
??? WHO IS LOUIS Q ???
People often ask me to describe myself to them, and explain why I have such an interest in music or photography or drawing and what
it is all about. For example, why did I choose to play music or pick up a camera or spend weeks on end creating a pen and ink drawing ? Why am interested in old odd things like vintage cameras, antique furniture, classic vinyl or unique little Chachkies? Some people would say I have an old soul. And, I’ve been told that many times . Quite honestly I vacillate, even though not as frequently as in the past, between all these things. I can go months or years focusing on any one of these creative outlets. And, that is exactly that, a creative outlet. I have a burning passion to create. I have enjoyed creating custom pen and ink artwork for clients and would literally spend weeks creating a unique piece for them. I have enjoyed playing guitar in several different bands either playing live or writing music and creating albums, and I, most recently over the past 10 years or so, have enjoyed photography and digital art as a means to express myself and create.
When I was younger and foolish I always looked for the means to the end regarding these interests of mine and would easily become disenchanted with my efforts, thinking perhaps I was not good enough for falling short of my unrealistic goals that my efforts should afford me. I thought often, I should be a star or the best or at least be able to make a nice living at these endeavors of mine.I became frustrated frequently because all the time and effort and sacrifice never really paid off “big time”, or so I thought. I was blind and lost sight of why I do these things. I couldn’t see the forrest for the trees. I allowed my ego and unrealistic expectations to cloud my creative vision. I sold out, more times that I want to admit. I thought thats what I had to do to become successful. What I failed to realize was that I was already successful. Successful beyond measure. God blessed me with the amazing gift of creativity to share with others. I was unable to see that my gift of creativity was not for me or my personal gain, but rather for others. My gift is to help others. To show and give others the beauty of music, art, emotion, inspiration and passion. To teach others that self expression can be good and up-lifting. To pass on knowledge and teach others how to find the creativity and passion that lies within all of us. That life is more than who we are.
So a little history of what inspired my passion for creativity, art and music.
I think my love of music began around 1976 at home listening to my fathers 8-track tapes of Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Steely Dan, Pink Floyd and Lynard Skynard as well as my aunts and mothers Beatles, Carpenters and other classic ’60’s and ’70’s albums. 99.1 the WAAL seemed to always be playing on the old 1960’s Magnavox stereo system with the nice warm tones from its vintage speakers covered in classic grill cloth. I remember my father taking banjo lessons when I was about 8 years old and would always steal the chance to twang on it while trying not to get caught with it in my measly little hands. I remember riding around town with my dad in the late seventies listening to his 8-tracks and the radio with the speakers mounted directly behind our heads in his 1977 Corvette. It was also around this time when I began my career as a musician starting out playing trumpet in junior high. My maternal grandmother was such a huge supporter of my interest in music and would tell me stories of her youth and her being involved in an accordion band. I quickly grew to love playing the trumpet and had a blast in marching and concert bands up until around ninth grade when I decided it was no longer cool to be in the band but rather to attempt to play football like most of my buddies. This decision would prove to be one of my greatest regrets in life. I often wonder where my career in music would have taken me if I continued playing the trumpet as I mastered reading music very well and was one of the youngest to be selected to county and regional bands. In hindsight, I wish I still played because I absolutely love the brass sections in many of my favorite bands. I began noodling with the guitar around age 15 and that passion is still present in me 37 years later. I enjoyed many years of playing live shows and recording albums. It was definitely a lifestyle that had many ups and downs. But at the end of the day I have to look at and ask myself what did my music and guitar playing do for others. Did it inspire others to learn to play? Did it help others cheer up or have fun when things were not so good in their life? Did it help someone cheer up or unwind after a difficult day? Do people still throw on an old Agony Hill CD when they just feel like reminiscing? I hope so. I hope my gift touched another person in some way. I know the gift of music that others have, my idols, influenced me beyond measure. I am thankful for them and their music.
I ventured into photography largely by accident in the mid 2000’s. I was taking personal photos of my children’s sporting or school events and was eventually approached by a local news paper to work part time as a freelance photographer for high school sports. I used to love looking and my grandmothers and family’s vintage photos. I would spend hours examining the old photo albums and digging through shoe boxes full of photos of people, places and local landmarks. These photos also fueled my curiosity of history and old things. After several years of shooting high school and college sports as well as local events I began to branch out into photographing other things out of my need to learn and grow and create. I challenged myself to a couple 365 photo projects over the past 15 years where I would take a photo a day for the entire year to tell a story. I eventually took my camera literally everywhere I went. I still was very much into seeing live music and many of my old band mates were still playing out live. I took photos of my friends at their gigs on weekends and still shot lots of high school sports weeknights. I learned more about the right gear, lenses, lighting etc. and then around 2010 I had the opportunity to shoot my first national band. Three days Grace and Chevelle were playing a local arena that I shot a lot of hockey games at and I was able to pull some strings and obtain press creds to photograph the show. I am thankful for that first opportunity. Years later I would be given another opportunity to shoot for an online music source, New York State Music. This outlet provided my the opportunity to shoot many big time national artists as well as write concert reviews. I was experiencing the best of both worlds. I remained connected to my first passion, music and was able to remain creative at the same time both photographing and documenting the live shows.
Obviously 2020 and the pandemic was a terrible year personally for many people, it also hit the sporting, entertainment and live music industry very hard as well. The last live show I covered was September 2019. I, as well as many others, miss live music and attending concerts. We need music and art in our lives. During this time I began picking up guitar again, learning different genres and styles of playing. I re-ignited my interest in collecting vinyl albums and have been able to use some of my concert or sports photos from the past to create digital art, my newest creative outlet. My eyes are not what they were 15-20 years ago so the pen and ink drawing just doesn’t seem to work out well for me anymore. I have turned to digital. I have asked myself how can I give back to others using this medium? How can I make someone smile? How can i make a kids or parents day? Why do I create digital art pieces for bands, students or athletes? It makes me feel good. It makes me feel creative. It pushes me to learn and grow as an artist. But most of all, it makes others happy and smile.
I am grateful to have the opportunity to remain involved with art and music in an creative manner and share with others. I desire to continue to learn grow as an artist and have had the blessing to continue to create art in some form, whether music, photography or digital art. I am thankful to the countless people who inspire and freely share advice and tips.
I am happy to share my photos with you. If you would like to view more of my live concert photos please check out the link. Also, if you are interested in contacting me for live concert, band promo, sports or digital artwork, please do not hesitate to contact me.
DIGITAL ART LINK
