I was raised by my mother Margaret Hooper, her maiden name is Rockwell. She believed she was a distant relative to Norman Rockwell. I always did a lot of drawing as a child and felt deep inside that I was an artist. But I never did well in art class and I always seemed to be on board with what they were doing. I worked as a Bartender for about nine years in various clubs . I had been at Coyotes Surf Club in Clearwater Fl for over two years and I was offered the GM (general manager) job. And found my self working up to 90 hours a week and totaly stressed out. And I had started feeling these incredible creative and artistic urge's that felt so over whelming at time's. I started doing a lot of sketching and drawing and painting, but I couldn't satisfy the urge. A friend at the time recommended that I should take an art class to relieve stress and check out a new medium of art. I found a woodcarving class. The teacher asked me what are you doing here? I told him I was going to be a sculptor! I bought a hand full of tools and moved back to the coast of Maine to a little town called Owl's Head. There I got a job working 12 hour swing shifts. I spent all my time off, carving Santa's and Wizard's, and selling my carvings. I moved in to Camden Maine and set up my first studio. After 2 1/2 years I moved back to Tampa Bay. I created two sculptures for Author Stephen King and sent them to him as gift . They were two coffins sculpted from two blocks of wood. One had a mummy in it and the other had a living dead guy in it.Stephen King loved them and kept them in his office in Bangor Maine. He sent me photo's of him in his office holding the two coffins.Then At this time a good friend gave me a piece of Brazilian Soapstone and said I should try sculpting in stone!! I developed my own techniques for sculpting paint and finishing the Soapstone. At this time I had started sculpting in clay, Which seamed incredibly easy after years of wood and stone. I would need good photos of my art to sell online That's how I got started with photography. And I found out I could create beautiful art with just one click of my camera. Now every were I look see a picture it drives me crazy!! I got an email from Author Lisa Rogak she was just finishing up a biography on Stephen King. Lisa Rogak asked for permission to use one photo of Mr King with my two sculptures in the bio. The bio was released on January 6 2009 The bio is called " HAUNTED HEART THE LIFE AND TIMES OF STEPHEN KING " Now I have sculpted the third coffin of the series and have started the fourth coffin it will have Mr King in it. My studios are at my home in Saint Augustine, Fl. I teach wood,stone and clay sculpting in my studio. I also have started a series of children's books, I have completed the first two books. I created a sculpture of the main character that would be sold as a toy to accompany the books. I spend a lot of time shooting photography and editing these days. It's now been twenty three years and I am creating art full time and I thank God for all the blessings... http://charles--w-hooper.artistwebsites/.... FaceBook.com/cwhooper1
