We were lucky to catch up with Winston Harrell recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Winston, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My life has been a series of tragic events. I fell out of a 3rd story window when I was 22 years of age. I broke four ribs and had a series of contusions and lacerations and suffered a punctured lung and was paralyzed on one side. When I was 27 I was catering a party for a friend and on my way home fell asleep at the steering wheel and was in a three-car accident,
In 1997 I was diagnosed with acute Leukemia. Since then I have learned to treasure every moment and to appreciate all the small things in life. I learned that for every bad circumstance, there is always something good right around the corner.
As a result of all these different life-changing events, I have learned to appreciate every moment that life gives you. Also, I’ve learned to help others when I can.
In 2011 I was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure and needed a pacemaker installed to improve the quality of my life.
So becoming resilient has been a lifelong journey.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Winston Harrell Jr. was born in Oceanside California in 1958 but he grew up in Chicago Illinois in 1960. He started his art career at the age of fourteen. In 1970 he participated in Chicago’s Mayor Daley’s Summer Youth Program for inner city youth in 1972. The program focused on teaching neighborhood inner-city children the value of art through the creation of Murals. To better fuel his curiosity for Art he later enrolled in a two-year correspondence Art course for commercial artists thru Art Instruction Schools located in Minneapolis Minnesota. Where he learned the finer principles of Art and illustration. As his creative desire for learning Art continued and grew he completed the A.S. program for Culinary Arts at Le Cordon Bleu of Chicago in 1997. To better equip himself with the changing world of digital art and graphic design he enrolled in the Visual Communication Program for graphic designers at Westwood College Atlanta Georgia in 2006. He received an A.S. in computer graphics and design in 2008. In 2011 he attended the Art Institute of Phoenix for 2 1/2 years where he received comprehensive training as a illustrator. He currently showcases his Artwork at Jarrod’s Tea House and Art Gallery in Mesa and at Whatzit and Whoozit Retail Outlet in Phoenix Arizona 2023. He also exhibits his Collection of home decor items every month at Art & Chill in Mesa.
In addition, he teaches Art/exercise classes for the developmentally disabled 3 days a week and is an active member of the Arizona Artist Guild, Art Link, and the American Art Award. His Artwork has been featured in Voyage magazine, Current World Masters publications, Astonish magazine, Spotlight Magazine, and Local Mesa News.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Always watch your back, keep a positive attitude, and help others when you can
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
When I look back on my experiences and education I remember three teachers that had a profound effect on my life skills and development. 1# Carla-Page Cambel. She was one of my instructors from Westwood College. Ms. Camble taught me how to look at a problem from all different angles. My second instructor was #2 Mr. Dave Coutts my Design instructor at The Art Institute of Phoenix. He taught me the ability to be a lifelong learner and ask lots of questions no matter what the situation would be. My 3# instructor was Tanacha Gains. She was my layout and design instructor at Westwood College in Atlanta Georgia. She taught me to never give up. I had such a difficult time in design school learning all the advanced digital programs but Mrs. Gains never gave up on me no matter how many times I wanted to call it quits.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chefontherun.artstation.com
- Instagram: winston_harrell
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/winsotnmharrell
