Dugald Stermer dies at 74

I just wanted to pay homage to one of the people that influence my career as an Illustrator, Mr. Dugald Stermer.  This man pushed and pulled me in the right direction, and not in the way that most would expect!  He started off by telling me that I couldn't do it...and if anyone knows Dugald, that would be about the way he would do things, a realist to the fullest!!! But what I didn't know at the time, is that that is exactly what I needed to hear!  Knowing that people thought that I couldn't accomplish my dream, drove me even more to grasp what I had worked so hard for.

Thesis with Dugald was by far my biggest challenge in the years that I had spent at CCA; but by the time it came to an end, I was kinda sad that it was.  I remember that morning of my final critique with Dugald, I walked into the class that he was teaching, since I was doing my thesis as an independent study that semester...He turns to me and says "Come back after this is over" and for some who don't know, classes in art school are 3 to 6 hours.  So I had to wait three hours for him to do a 30 minute critique lol. But either way...it was a great experience, and by the end of it, Dugald turned to me and said he was proud of me, and that he knew I could do it!!! And of course I had to add, "But you told me I couldn't do it!" and he said "I just told you that, because that exactly what you needed hear to finish, and you did." I smiled and so did he, and I walked away with a B+ from the class which is good considering that this type of man rarley gives away A's.

I was honored to have been taught by such a man...And this too will drive me even further, to live up to what he gave me...DRIVE!!! RIP DUGALD STERMER, YOU WILL BE MISSED!!!
 
 For more information on this story and who Dugald was, you can follow the  L.A. Times link below.

Dugald Stermer dies at 74; artist updated 1984 Olympic medals