Who is ArtSiren?

My main passions as a youngster were art and music. I was okay at art, but not a prodigy, and persevered, with loads of help from an uncle who liked painting landscapes.

Music, I was much better at, learning four musical instruments while at school (five if you include the tambourine!) I was able to read music from the age of 8 using the treble clef and age 12 for bass clef playing my baritone euphonium. Oh, if only it had been a saxophone, I'd still be playing it now! By the way, we didn't get a choice.

Literature came along later on for me, as we did two separate exam courses, English Language and English Literature. It was a powerfully passionate love-hate relationship: I loved language, creative writing and story-telling; I detested literature fanatically: a book's death by a thousand essays! (I did enjoy the War Poets though, I'll confess to that. We did Wilfred Owen. My favorite of his war poems is below.)

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.

What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

By the age of 17 I had started setting up my first business with friends from college, and was studying sciences and math - I guess I lost my map! In fact I allowed myself to get pushed into the science which ended up being my profession - nobody's fault but my own. I was weak! A classic case of being good at it, but not particularly interested!

I did the uni thing - the high points were learning my first martial art, and getting into bass guitar.

Today, three other martial arts, and another bass later, I'm now out of science - a relief! I'm writing, proofreading and stock market trading. Oh, and my latest achievement is becoming a Lensmaster! I'm still a baby squid at the moment, but one day, you'll see. I'll be a giant!

This time next year Rodders, we'll be millionaires!

Delboy Trotter from UK sitcom
'Only Fools & Horses'

My avatar is based on a few things that I'm interested in:

• The Yin-Yang symbol - actually it's the Tai Chi symbol which represents the universe, and consists of Yin and Yang, the two opposing forces. It is also a symbol for kung fu, of which I learned several styles.
  
• The musical sharp and flat symbols appear inside the circle, which when combined make a 'natural' - this symbolises my love of nature.
  
• The two dots can be found on the 'F-clef' or bass-clef, and represent my interests in bass guitar.
  

The art bit is probably obvious by now, but that still leaves the question: why Siren? Well, it's not meant to refer to a claxon or fog-horn! And it shouldn't conjure up images of mythological Sirens enticing your ship onto the rocks and certain doom - or a mint mocha chip frappuccino, since the Starbucks logo features one of those Sirens!

No, in my case, Siren is an acronym reflecting my personal view on making a living in the 21st century. Long gone are the days of 'a job for life', and so it's time to embrace the concept of going plural. So SIREN stands for:

S = Self-employed, Salary, Savings
I = Investments, Innovation, Ideas
R = Residual income, Royalties
E = Enterprise, Entrepreneurship
N = Nicely, Naturally, Nastiness Not Necessary!

So now you know!

Having read Jasmineann's lensography recently which has a lovely 'Quotes' section, I thought I'd also add some of my favorites here.

'Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.'
Sir Winston Churchill

'If you wish to know your past life, look to your present circumstances. If you wish to know of your future life, look to your present actions.'
Buddhist saying

'Never let your memories be greater than your dreams.'
Doug Ivester

'If we don't change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are going.'
Chinese proverb

'Every heart that has beat strongly and cheerfully has left a hopeful impulse behind it in the world, and bettered the tradition of mankind.'
Robert Louis Stevenson