"How did you get started drawing?"

It's the first thing I'm asked, and my answer is:

"O. J. Simpson."

As a broadcast journalist for the past forty-plus years, I've covered a lot of big stories. One of the most sensational was the 1995 Simpson murder trial. My assignment for CBS Radio News (when I wasn't in the courtroom in Los Angeles) was to sit in a New York studio and anchor the network's gavel-to-gavel coverage of the trial. With the lion's share of time taken up by testimony, I had long stretches with little to say.

I began sketching the faces of the...

"How did you get started drawing?"

It's the first thing I'm asked, and my answer is:

"O. J. Simpson."

As a broadcast journalist for the past forty-plus years, I've covered a lot of big stories. One of the most sensational was the 1995 Simpson murder trial. My assignment for CBS Radio News (when I wasn't in the courtroom in Los Angeles) was to sit in a New York studio and anchor the network's gavel-to-gavel coverage of the trial. With the lion's share of time taken up by testimony, I had long stretches with little to say.

I began sketching the faces of the witnesses on paper napkins that had been left in the studio. When I finished one, I'd thumbtack it to the wall. After a while, I'd accumulated a small collection. And co-workers took note. Armed with their encouragement, I decided to give drawing a try in my off hours.

My first effort was a small portrait of the great bluesman John Lee Hooker. Not bad, I said to myself, not bad at all. But it didn't last. After only a few other drawings, I stopped.

And I didn't pick up the pencils and pad again for thirteen years.

What prodded me to start again?

A good friend loaned me John Daido Loori's "The Zen of Creativity." It's a wonderful book, and it showed me the way back. That was in the spring of 2008, and I'm still at it.

The response to my work has been very gratifying. I've had one-man shows in Westchester County, New York, and Princeton, Illinois where I lived with my wife, Deborah. My next show is scheduled in Peru, Illinois in April of this year.

I began my career in radio in 1968. From 1990-2010 I was a Correspondent for CBS News, which included five years as anchor of "The World News Roundup" on the CBS Radio Network. I retired in 2010.

That's my story. I hope you like my work.

I'm pleased to say my work is part of private collections, and I have done
a number of commissions, both drawing and painting.

My first show ran from 1 November 2009 through the end of the year at the Madeleine Gutman Gallery in Westchester County, New York.

Three drawings were on display during March of 2010 as part of an exhibition on art and collecting in Princeton.

I had a one-man show at the Prairie Arts Center, Princeton, Illinois, in May-June 2011.

Please take a moment to check my arts blog, "Graphite." You can become a follower at:

nickyoungart.blogspot.com

Or, you can connect via Facebook.