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About Mike Ivy and My 8-Year-Old Self
About Mike Ivy
Born and raised in Austin, Texas, I was an Art teacher in Pflugerville ISD for 25 years. Drawing has been my passion since early childhood.
As a child, I was a voracious little artist with delusions of grandeur. I began drawing pictures and later comic books of Space Dog around the time I saw Star Wars in the summer of 1977. Five years later, I was a 1-boy comic book empire with several series and a raving audience of 1.
Through high school and college, I went through several phases as an artist, ultimately considering myself an Abstract Expressionist Surrealist, with a fair amount of hubris. But it was when I found myself coaching and helping fellow art students at Southwest Texas State University that I kindled an interest in Art Education.
Teaching Art allowed me to continue growing and developing as an artist, inspired by the many artists I introduced to my students, especially Edward Gorey and Charles M. Schulz, as well as by the many artists I taught. It was while reading a biography of Gorey and a volume of Schulz's Complete Peanuts that I came up with the idea of "My 8-Year-Old Self."
Now I've come full circle, drawing Space Dog as part of My 8-Year-Old Self’s fantasy adventures. Once again I'm a voracious, but not so little, artist, doing my best to keep the hubris and grandiose delusions at bay, drawing about my my passions..
About My 8-Year-Old Self
Created in the summer of 2020, during the COVID lockdown, My 8-Year-Old Self is based loosely on my childhood experiences and the comics I drew at the time. My initial idea was to create a character who felt awkward and out of place, which is why he wears a spacesuit. (Plus, he thinks it makes him look cool!) So, to insulate himself from the stress of everyday life, he created his own comic book characters who also populate his fantasy world.
The Series
My 8-Year-Old Self began as a series of drawings I regularly posted on social media. I initially approached these as an Art series: planning, experimenting, and creating, similar to how my Advanced Drawing students work.
The first 50 drawings were completed traditionally with a ballpoint pen on bristol board paper.
Going Digital
As the series advanced, I experimented with working digitally, playing with color, and even simple animation. Ultimately, I decided my method of cross-hatch shading was my preferred style and was able to find digital tools that allowed me to match the look of a ballpoint pen drawing closely. Since then, I have been drawing and painting exclusively on my iPad with an app called Procreate.
The Book
I gathered the first 70 drawings and wove them into a story that follows My 8-Year-Old Self's adventures, mishaps, and triumphs through a year in his life.
My first book, 'My 8-Year-Old Self: A Year in the Life of a Geeky Introvert,' is now available on Amazon.com. You can also click below to buy it directly from my printing partner, IngramSpark.
The Future
I have two more books in mind for My 8-year-old Self and a long list of drawing ideas that will keep me busy for the next few years.
Book 2 is nearly complete and will be published soon..
What is in store for My 8-Year-Old Self? I will only say that the second book will end on a cliffhanger, and the third book will deal with the results of that cliffhanger.
The adventures of My 8-Year-Old Self will continue, and I can't wait to see what happens!