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frechstudios In reply to GraphikDesigns [2011-06-01 23:00:28 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, I appreciate it. This is a very personal piece to both Kerry and I, so I am happy to see that others like yourself see that. THank you

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GraphikDesigns In reply to frechstudios [2011-06-02 10:14:22 +0000 UTC]

your welcome!

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frechstudios In reply to TomOliverArt [2011-05-27 02:53:03 +0000 UTC]

Thanks Tom, I appreciate it. You have some nice city-scapes!

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TomOliverArt In reply to frechstudios [2011-05-27 23:35:54 +0000 UTC]

Thanks, Jerry!

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frechstudios In reply to Freenando [2011-05-26 02:57:20 +0000 UTC]

Gracias

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frechstudios In reply to orange1green [2011-05-17 15:56:08 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, I appreciate it. Hopefully the shades of old will be lifted and the sun will come out and we will all see the world anew with an open mind for each other.

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orange1green In reply to frechstudios [2011-05-17 21:23:45 +0000 UTC]

you are welcome.nice paint and your thinking

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frechstudios In reply to MililaniMak [2011-05-13 04:14:41 +0000 UTC]

Thanks MililaniMak, I am touched to hear that this painting has such an impact. My friend and I often conversations about the changing times and we talk alot about how we have to rise up and let the old chip away. Kerry is a strong guy and he is moving beyond the shadow of his folks upbringing and he is about to graduate from that very college next year! Thanks for sharing MililaniMak

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MililaniMak In reply to frechstudios [2011-05-13 04:39:14 +0000 UTC]

we old futs probably kinda want you young ones to respect the world we were forced to grow up in, but actually is probably more better you didn't have to know it the way we did. still plenty enough of that crap, but nothing, and i mean nothing like was. still yet, one reason i live Hawaii was to just leave it back there.

there's power in your art, Jerry. stick with it. (took me 10 years to finish school, but never gave up!) good luck w/the commissions. (would buy one myself if could afford it. ) my folks had wanted me to be a photographer (my dad) or go to art school (my mom) after i got out of the navy, but i was too lazy . . . didn't have that hunger in the gut for it back then. is probably why now i do the photomanipulations. but i can tell you have it . . . don't loose it, brah. aloha, Mak

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frechstudios In reply to MililaniMak [2011-05-13 16:31:32 +0000 UTC]

Mak, I had done the same thing you did, go to the military while at the same time my mom and dad had wanted me to go to art school. They saw the potential and believed in me but I couldn't see myself making a living from it so I avoided it. I was in the National Guard and from 9/11 to 08/2006 I was in and out of active service. I was called up 6 times and served a cumulative 33 months over those 5 years. I was unable to keep a steady job because each time I came back the job would change or the company would be out of business.

Yet, it was Iraq that changed my mind. On our way to Iraq at Desert Warfare School I picked up the pencil and started to do a lot of cartoons of our unit. Art was the only way out for me, I was surrounded by a lot of drama, depression, and negativity so the art was the way out for me. It was on May 13th, today actually (WOW), 2006 I said "I'm going back to school!" My mom and dad were happy and very proud that I finally made the right choice.

So for the last 5 years I have been studying, received my BA in Art and currently pursuing my MFA in Painting. I cannot ask for a more Blessed life than what I have now. My wife was already planning on going back to school for art as well and it has paid off for the both of us. She has her BA in Art as well and we support each others' pursuits in art and it is a wonderful life we now live.

This is the life we were meant to live brah! Thanks Mak, it is good to hear encouraging words every now and again, thank you.

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MililaniMak In reply to frechstudios [2011-05-13 21:03:22 +0000 UTC]

jeez . . . we sure took advantage of you guys.

took me 6 years to get my BA. i think it was meeting Mrs. Mak that finally got me focused to finish. then, came to HI for graduate school at UH. had a newborn baby (my first of three), had to work & go to school mostly at night, no money (was able to get tuition waivers 'cuz the secretary for the dept. respected what i was doing, bless her). . . took me about 4 years, but finally got my MURP. been working as a Honolulu city planner for about 22 years now, and love it still.

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frechstudios In reply to MililaniMak [2011-05-14 00:09:37 +0000 UTC]

That's great Mak. It is always great to do what you love. Urban planning has to be an interesting field, yet it is good that I am not in it - I would make roads in the shape of a portrait or smiley faces in the middle of traffic circles! lol! Ever get the urge for that?

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MililaniMak In reply to frechstudios [2011-05-14 04:37:50 +0000 UTC]

is funny you said that, 'cuz people often accuse our long-range planners of doing stuff just like that
actually, i work with the group that does the land use regulating (zoning, coastal zone regulation, etc.), so i don't really make "plans" for the future. instead, i implement & enforce land use laws, and help folks figure out how they can build and use their land in ways the laws allow. is really way more fascinating to me 'cuz that's where the action really is. we're kinda the grunts of the planning profession. i sorta stumbled into it. got my BA in geography (also earned a certificate in cartographic design), but had majored at one time in art, accounting, engineering, marine biology, then geology . . . wasn't till if found planning that i knew what i was looking for & it was perfect for me 'cuz it's a mix of hard & soft science applied to the real world; technical, yet intuitive). am at that stage now where these days i'm mostly focused on training our young planners to take over.

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frechstudios In reply to MililaniMak [2011-05-14 13:21:57 +0000 UTC]

Haha, I bet! I would have too much fun doing that stuff: making zig-zags for fun and round-abouts for no reason! Yeah, good thing I am not in that business other-wise I would have a very short list of friends. I would imagine that what you do is quite fascinating and being a Geologist in Hawaii must be a dream. I took Earth Sciences and Hawaii was a constant topic of discussion. It is very fascinating.

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MililaniMak In reply to frechstudios [2011-05-15 10:10:30 +0000 UTC]

can describe HI geology in one simple phrase: "red earth." stains everything! (all that fresh igneous lava rusts like a big dawg in this weather.)

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frechstudios In reply to MililaniMak [2011-05-15 14:24:55 +0000 UTC]

Interesting. I always wanted to go back and visit the parks there. Too bad I never got that assignment to Schofield. Actually, there is an AF post there where the SPs drive around in golf carts and patrol along the beach That's like an assignment to Key West!

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MililaniMak In reply to frechstudios [2011-05-15 20:23:32 +0000 UTC]

must be Hickam AFB. is right next door to the Int'l airport; and, yes, is right on the south shore.

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frechstudios In reply to MililaniMak [2011-05-15 21:30:00 +0000 UTC]

I think you right, it is Hickman and it is the main base for the USAF there. The smaller base I was thinking of, is Bellows AFB. When I was in I was trying to go TDY there for a few months but instead I was sent to Iraq!!! Go figure. But yes, Bellows had and I still they do, some bungalows on the beach for $55/night. I was hoping to go there but oh well, I needed Iraq to wake me up and it is unlikely I would be where I am today if it weren't for Iraq.

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MililaniMak In reply to frechstudios [2011-05-17 01:08:55 +0000 UTC]

have been to Bellows. is not really a base, but. just a rec area for military folks. they let the public on the beach (most of the time, anyway), but only military families can stay in the cabins.

you'd have to kiss some serious ass, i would think, to get that duty, brah!

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frechstudios In reply to MililaniMak [2011-05-17 13:16:27 +0000 UTC]

Yes you would. With my personality - today - after putting up with all of the BS from the military, had I stayed in there would no way I would have ever been assigned there. I have a habit of speaking out now and pissing people off, they would probably send me to Grand Forks, ND or somewhere remote! lol!

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MililaniMak In reply to frechstudios [2011-05-18 03:30:43 +0000 UTC]

shoulda seen me brah . . . was supposed to get "interviewed" by a bunch of senior folks on the boat when mustering out; really, is just their way of trying to talk folks into re-upping. the career counselor threw me out of his office (i think he thought i was pulling his leg); the cap'n literally refused to see me and i had to get my division head to get his signature on my papers. my department head tolld me i was the "the best signalman he had ever met, and the worst sailor." his exact words. i had 4 Article 12s (we called 'em "Captain's Mast"; mostly for "attitude" problems . . . all in my lst 2 years. no good conduct medal for me. oh well, i was just "young & dumb & used to hard-ships"! (was still recommended for reenlistment, but!!! )

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frechstudios In reply to MililaniMak [2011-05-18 15:08:13 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, those GCM Medals were for real brown nosers. They are now calling the Article 12's you had, Article 15s now. They've grown up lol! My Captain looked at me and said "Frech, I am surprised you want to leave, I thought that with your progress you would stay." I thought, "what progress" and to me that showed how out of touch he was with who I was. I couldn't wait to get out, I loved my bro's but not all of them! Glad I did get out when I did but I am grateful for the experience.

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MililaniMak In reply to frechstudios [2011-05-19 03:29:15 +0000 UTC]

oops! it was an Article 15 even then. guess i'm gettin' dyslexic in my old age. was just another makule moment. still, managed to get out with my "crow" (what we called that Nav version of chevrons) intact. was a petty officer (signalman) third class (E-4). how long you were in anyway, Jer? I actually did a total of 10 years; 4 years active duty, then after my 2-year inactive reserve status ended (all enlistments back then were some combination of 6 years total), i signed up for 4 more years in the inactive reserve . . . was an ocean engineering major at the time, and thought it would be wise to have the USN as a back-up. guess i was having makule moments even back then.

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frechstudios In reply to MililaniMak [2011-05-19 05:11:39 +0000 UTC]

I almost re-upped when I was in Iraq just to get a bonus and as I thought about it, I thought, my life is worth more than a $50K bonus. I'm glad I didn't as a lot of my friends were re-deployed and I would still be trying to get my BA in Art. I'm glad I did get out when I did, otherwise my mom would never have been there to see me graduate with my degree, she passed away in February. So I am very thankful I got done when I did.

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MililaniMak In reply to frechstudios [2011-05-20 05:16:41 +0000 UTC]

sorry to hear about your mom, Jer. i lost mine before my son was born. so, was a long time ago, i guess . . . he'll be 18 in July. she got to see me graduate, too, btw. glad you were able to do that for her. it means more to them, i think, than it does us. i wasn't gonna walk except she insisted on it.

. . . $50K to re-up! jeez. i think i was paid about $7K per year as an E-4. well, that was a loooong time ago.

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frechstudios In reply to MililaniMak [2011-05-20 05:24:02 +0000 UTC]

Yes, it was a great moment. She wanted all four of us to go to college, she had visioned move-in day at college, pick-up and doing all kinds of things I think. Then suddenly I dropped out and went away with the military on again and off again for six years and when I said to her "I'm going back" she, I think, was happier than me! I don't think I realized how proud she was until graduation day. She was so excited for us - my wife walked with me. What a day!

Yeah, I heard the bonus went up too! However, that meant going to Iraq again and dealing with ......idiots again for 6 more years and then I'd be forced to stay in for the retirement! Nah, I'm cool with being artist hahaha!

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MililaniMak In reply to frechstudios [2011-05-20 07:19:20 +0000 UTC]

4 kids in my family, too. i was the only one to go college, but. maybe why she was so insistent i to the walk.

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frechstudios In reply to sergiomarreiro [2011-05-04 04:36:19 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, I really appreciate it.

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