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I was born in Seattle on October 13, 1953 to Robert and Dorothy Wikstrom. My homelife would be normal for any young catholic boy in the mid fifties.
My first journey from home came in 1964 when I spent the summer with relatives in Ketchikan, Alaska.
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By the time I entered Queen Anne High School I was an apprentice to my father in his commercial art business. During my junior and senior years I produced the artwork for the school yearbooks. I was active in the antiwar movement and participated in underground cultural events of many kinds. My first music festival was a rousing affair known as the Seattle Pop Festival in 1969. Later that summer I took a freight train journey to Los Angeles with a friend without telling anyone.
I began to move away from home. First by retreating to a wooded area near my home that provided solitude and a chance to discover myself.
After high school, I enrolled in commercial art courses at Seattle Central Community College. Two years later my studies were complete. Portfolio in hand I began looking for work and was hired as a sign painter for a local drug store chain. I was able to supplement this with work in my father's art business and felt I was on my way to becoming a success. During summer and spring breaks from my junior year in high school on, I would take progressively longer trips away from home, mainly for adventure but occasionally in search of financial reward. I once took a trip to a friend's property off the Redwood Highway in Southern Oregon and ended up in jail.
Other freight train travels followed, the longest being a trip with a friend to Chicago and then a short hitch hike to Ann Arbor, Michigan to take part in the annual blues and jazz festival held there.
I decided I would strike out on a wild adventure in Dutch Harbor and Kodiak, Alaska in 1974 at the age of 20.
Following this journey I embarked on the deciding event of my life. After living in New Orleans for several months I sustained an injury to my spinal cord while swimming and became paralyzed from the shoulders down.
After rehabilitation, I again took up my paintbrush and redeveloped my art. I designed an art program at Seattle's Children's Hospital and gradually my life came back together in a new and very positive way.
My wife and I have been married for 20 years and have 5 terrific grandchildren. We have traveled the world together. You may read of our most recent journey to Europe. Thank you for your time and interest. Please feel free to contact me.
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