Anzai! Sharon George Bio

I've been an illustrator and free lance artist since 1984. My company, Gorgeous George Graphics, was born of invention; trying to raise children and generate income simultaneously, working for myself seemed like the best way to go. I’ve never regretted it although, like most artists, learning to market myself has been a hard won skill.

In 1996 a friend of mine sent me an old 286 computer with an orange (one color) monitor he gleaned from Dictaphone. They were throwing the computer away. He spiffed it up as best he could, dropped it into a box and mailed it to me. I was thrilled. I sat for hours typing into that hideous screen and realized I wanted more! I saved some money and bought myself a 486 with a real color monitor. I stared at “Dazzle”, the most beautiful screensaver I’d ever seen, the ONLY screensaver I’d ever seen, and realized I wanted MORE!

I upgraded to a Pentium 133 with a “real” video card, dropped 128 megs of ram into it and started buying graphic software. I didn’t know squat, but I figured out that Adobe products were 2-3 times what I apparently could get from Corel. I purchased Corel DRAW 5.

I loaded CD5 into my computer, opened the manual...and freaked out! Nothing made any sense to me! I cried a lot that year (really), finally discovered I could join the Metro San Diego DRAW Users Group, and that turned the corner for me. I was still doing illustration with natural media, mostly wildlife t-shirt design at that time. I bought CD7 when it became available, never having learned Version 5! I got deep into volunteering for my User Group. I generated their monthly newsletter, created their website, made signs and posters for their events. With the support of Susan Dunsworth, the UG leader, I gained confidence and knowledge.

I realized from the beginning I was a pixel pusher, not unnatural given my background in oil painting, colored pencil, and pen & ink illustration. The idea of painting on the computer excited me tremendously. I bought a Wacom tablet.

In 1997, Susan told me I could volunteer for CorelWorld 97 as a door monitor and sit in on the classes. It was in San Diego. I jumped on it! Honestly, I could hardly contain myself I was so excited at what I found there! I blush quietly now when I remember transforming from a posed middle aged woman into a digital groupie, gasping at the feet of the graphic gods. I actually met the people whose books I had read! Anyway, so much expertise, talent, knowledge, and ability crammed into one place at one time inspired me to reach for my own career generating art on a computer.

After the conference, I had a refreshed determination to master Corel. I bought Corel 8 and a Pentium II, 200 mhz with a better video card, more ram, a high end scanner and an ink jet printer!

In 1998 I learned that the CA Computer Expo held an annual art contest and I decided to enter. I had an idea. One afternoon I drew CyberGoddess, with pencil and paper, and scanned it into the computer. I pulled up Photo-Paint and began to paint her in. It was my first real effort. I discovered that the brush tools in Photo-Paint were clumsy (for me), so I did the fine details of her eyes, mouth, and hair in Painter 5, using their airbrush tool. All the jewelry, background, and everything else was created in Photo-Paint using Eye Candy and Photo-Paint filters for effects.

I took my Syquest disk to a local service bureau and was initiated into the woes of using a PC & Corel for graphic output. After a week of hassle and haggling, just 20 minutes before the contest closed, I delivered an Iris print to the judges. I won!

That really gave me confidence. After that, I had clients coming to me. I’ve never had to look for work again. My business has spread word of mouth here in San Diego and I’ve been happily creating both print media and web sites for local businesses. I’m still able to create from my home/studio; a wonderful thing, because now I babysit a grandson while my oldest daughter goes to college.

CyberGoddess has also won Honorable Mention in the 1998 Corel World Design Contest (CWDC) and has been published in the Corel Draw 8 WOW book and several magazines, representing Corel Corporation in the graphics industry. I feel very honored and fortunate!

When CorelWorld 98 announced it was coming to San Diego, it was a no brainer for me to volunteer again. I just wanted to be around these wonderful, accomplished people and learn from them. I developed a friendship with Rick Altman, for whom I have very high regard.

I have purchased the Official Guide books for both DRAW and Photo-Paint every year and learned from them. I have the deepest respect for Foster’s immense knowledge, and I’m amazed at what Gary Priester can do with a vector program! I have purchased all his books too. I use these marvelous tools to teach myself. Recently, I've purchased Anzai! Courseware, CorelDRAW 9, both the introductory and the advanced manuals. I'm really glad I did! They're easily understandable, not too boring, and very comprehensive preparation to take the certification tests. I know this because I took the beta tests in Orlando at CorelWorld 99.

I upgraded to a Pentium III 500 mhz, 256 megs of ram, with a huge 7200 RPM hard drive and Corel 9.

CorelWorld 99 being in Florida was a challenge for me, but I still made the determination to go. I had done some work for a client who owns a Travel Service and was able to get a free condo for the week in Orlando. That price break let me buy an airplane ticket for my husband, so we made it a business-vacation. Once again the conference stimulated me to refocus on my goal to master Corel! I always learn so much at these conferences, and the opportunity to network with Corel Corp reps and the “Gods of Corel” is invaluable.

I’ve decided to get my teaching credentials in Corel 9. There are thousands of Adobe experts running around out there, but not too many accredited Corel teachers. The beginning of something big is a great place to be! I have also determined to win the CWDC, at least a monthly, with my digital paintings. I am entering artwork for each judging period.

I’ve had some genuine headaches with service bureaus who seem to only like files prepared on a Mac with Adobe or Quark. When I came to CorelWorld 99, I was totally frustrated and insecure about using Corel in the “real” world. My fears have been allayed by what I learned at the conference. The Corel Reps guaranteed me they would actually contact the service bureaus I use and work with them, educating them on using Corel. That makes my job as a graphic artist using Corel easier. What more could you ask for?

In my opinion, Corel is every bit as good as any Adobe product, PC clones (well-built) are as good as Macs (better ones), there’s just lots of prejudice against us. Oh, Whatever, Mary. There’s no revenge like living well! I feel certain Corel is a future major player in the graphics world, and I, for one, am mastering the rules of the game!

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When asked how Sharon came up with the name Gorgeous George, she replied (unedited) “My last name is George and I'm gorgeous! Seriously, my ART is gorgeous! At least I think it is! Also, when I was a little girl, my grandmother used to watch a golden haired wrestler named Gorgeous George. It just seemed like a cool name. No one ever forgets it.” You can say that again. When asked what's in store, Sharon said “I'd really like to concentrate on my goddess artwork as that is what I hope to generate income with in the future. I plan to create a goddess tarot deck in the near future.” You can contact Sharon George at Gorgeous George Graphics, 2259 Dunlop Street, San Diego, CA 92111. Phone: (858) 292-0194.

“Chalk One Up for Goddesses Everywhere!”

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