Hi I'm Dave... (reintro after some advice from @asapers)

My name is Dave, and I am a consultant, writer, illustrator and advocate. I am a West Aussie, Hubby and father of 7. Here is a bit about me, a tidbit of backstory and my mission in life.

At the age of 20, my life broke. I had overloaded my life and my brain, chasing Money and Fame and trying to prove myself. Man did I fry some circuits and pretty severely. I now have Bipolar Type 1, and it's been a brutal and beautiful journey learning to live broken.

I have a mission to bring together creatives who exist for these three words! LIVE. LOVE. CREATE (“The Almost Human Collective”.) I have met so many ordinary people who are determined and brilliant. Living Loving and Creating to spite their enormous challenges.

LIVE - Life is for the living, and we mean LIVING! You are here for a REASON. Your life matters so much more than you could ever know. As HUMANS we are a collective of souls, minds and spirits and it's time to LIVE.

LOVE - Being Loved and Loving that's the point! The Human race is screaming that LOVE is all sorts of things. We believe GOD is LOVE. The source of all that is good and the Perfect source of HOPE. God gave us his son Jesus to show us that WE are destined to be used by him to show EVERYONE and EVERYTHING his Beauty!

CREATE - We are CREATED, and you have a purpose. For us, it's not ab​out being SEEN or HEARD or for MONEY. We live and love to CREATE! This world needs a YOU! You're not designed just to fit in. You are here to SHINE, by just being you. The person God has made you!

A bit more about me…

Through my mid 20's, I worked in schools in various roles. Bright and funny teacher and writer, Simon Wicks burst into my world with his infectious Yorkshire accent and fantastic wit. He had written a great story, "Fred has Lost his Head". After the terrible, horrible breakdown and awful relapses and recovery. It was the perfect book to birth my love for creating children's books. Seeing all those pages filled with my characters was a real hoot. Simon and I when on to release the second title in the series called, 'Fred Paints Everything Red'. They are still two of the silliest fun books I have read (total bias, I know) and there's more to come!

I was "that kid." The constant cartoon doodler of little characters in-class. After leaving school, I gravitated to mentoring and caring for people with disabilities and Youth "at risk". What a challenge!

For a guy that draws funny little creatures and tells quirky stories. I have a real serious side. I'm emotional, and I'm a deep thinker. Cartoons, Music, Songwriting and Poetry have always been a part of my life. A clearing for me to escape away. There is no way to describe the feeling of the oasis of creating. It's a deep peace. I love it.
Paul Moylan invited me to illustrate his Easter book "Why the Lamb", His goal was to share God's love and support the work of Compassion Australia. It had happened! My two greatest passions had come smashing together. The story of Jesus and my quirky little doodlings.

Later, as a School Chaplain, I got a real kick out of using my cartooning with children. We had a blast! They were motivated and encourage students; I was in my element! Talking and Drawing!

Winning with mental health is an important message I want to bring to the community. I am so grateful that I get to deliver hope-filled messages. By yes, you guessed it drawing weird little characters and telling fun stories.

My wife Lisa and I live in Perth Western Australia with our 7 Children. There is never a dull moment in our busy home, and we wouldn't want it any other way.

Live, Love, Create.

God Bless,

#livelovecreate

Dave