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About Me

Hi there, my name's Jon Burrage (commonly known on the Web as 'Demajen'), I'm 28 years old, and I'm one of those weird guys who dabbles in lots of different things: art, writing, web design, and more.

Potted History:

I was born in a little village in the West Midlands, England, went to school there, went to college in the nearby town, and then decided to get away from it all and study English Literature and Creative Writing at Lancaster University, approx 120 miles from home.

I graduated from Lancs Uni with a 2-1 in English Literature (specialising in Medieval literature), and then - for lack of a better idea - embarked on a PGCE at St. Martin's College (also in Lancaster) specialising in Secondary Education: English, Drama and Media Studies. I was never sure if I wanted to teach, but I tried it anyways, spending a term at Bishop Rawstorne CofE Language College near Preston (which was a great school but really difficult to get to for a non-driver), before moving on to Our Lady's Catholic College in Lancaster for three years.

During those three years I became disillusioned with the education system and decided to take a break from it, so I took my hard-earned wages and applied for a Masters in Creative Writing at Lancaster Uni, where I spent 12 months in the company of fellow aspiring writers. It was one of the best, most satisfying experiences of my life, and I learned a lot there.

I finished the course in September 2007 and couldn't really find anything to do work-wise in Lancaster, so I returned home to the Midlands to plot world domination and to continue writing my fledgling novel. At the start of 2008 I decided that I was, perhaps, ready to do a bit of teaching again, but nothing full time, so I applied for work at a supply agency and have been working in local schools teaching a variety of subjects since then.

Hobbies and 'Talents'

I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, but I do 99% of my work now on computer, and I've only really started dabbling in that in the last eight years or so. I like to think that I'm getting better at it, but the amount of time I get for practise is sorely lacking - one of the creative obstacles being a teacher raises.

There are thousands of things that influence my art, eastern and western styles, what I see on TV and film, what I hear in the music that I work to, the storylines that unfold in the computer games I play. Here are just a few of my inspirations:-

Artists:


  • Todd Lockwood ~ brilliant digital/traditional fantasy artist.
  • Wayne Reynolds ~ vibrant fantasy paintings.
  • Sam Wood ~ (anyone find a website for him? D&D artist)
  • Jason Chan ~ painter of gorgeous and haunting women
  • Samwise ~ THE Warcraft artist!
  • Falcoon ~ not updated much anymore.
  • Larry Elmore ~ the grandad of D&D art
  • Mark Gibbons ~ an artist who got me interested in fantasy in the first place
  • Marta Dahlig ~ fabulous at painting fabrics
  • Melanie Delon ~ faeries and beautiful landscapes amongst other things
  • Jonny Duddle ~ love this guy's comedic painting style

Music:

Mostly classical music or film scores - stuff without words so I can concentrate. Favourites include:
Posted by: Jon
4:06PM 2/07/08