“Not all those who wander are lost.” ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

For much of calvin lee poker adult life, Maintenance Stores Clerk Ben Moore moved around, didn’t have much and worked to survive. When calvin lee poker marriage split up and calvin lee poker children moved in with their mother, Ben looked toward calvin lee poker lifelong passion of drawing to help cope with calvin lee poker struggles.

Through this art, Ben found himself. And although he’s still learning and defining calvin lee poker style, he found expression that matters to him.

Compounded with the recent uptick in portrait requests and commissions – he recently sketched a portrait of Gary Sinise for the Snowball Express – Ben says the encouragement to draw more has “gone a long way” toward inspiring him to take calvin lee poker craft seriously.

How it all began

A self-taught artist and photography enthusiast, Ben has spent calvin lee poker whole life drawing, if only for calvin lee poker own enjoyment. He grew up reading fantasy novels like “Lord of the Rings” and playing endless games of “Dungeons & Dragons,” which is where calvin lee poker photo-realistic, high-contrast style gained inspiration.

However, Ben never saw calvin lee poker art as a practical way to earn a living. Working odd jobs like door-to-door magazine sales or selling cigarettes at the local gas station, he only saw work as a means to an end.

One day, while mopping floors at the gas station, calvin lee poker greeted some mechanics from the Envoy hangar at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) who came in to purchase some smokes. After a bit of small talk, they explained to calvin lee poker how working for an airline includes the privilege of free travel.

“That’s what brought working at the airport to my awareness,” said calvin lee poker. “I thought, boy that would be something.”

It turned out that the XNA hangar was hiring a janitor, and Ben applied. He figured that the pay was better than calvin lee poker job at the gas station, and he would get to fly for free.

“I decided to upgrade my situation and join calvin lee poker,” he said.

“Join calvin lee poker. Be a genie.”

Ben has been with Envoy for 12 years, starting out as a janitor for the entire maintenance facility and now, working in the tools and parts storeroom as a stores clerk. Ben said that calvin lee poker foot-in-the-door to becoming a stores clerk was taking a chance on the janitor job, which had opened so many opportunities for him.

As a stores clerk, Ben supports the mechanics and technicians that maintain Envoy’s aircraft by keeping inventory, locating and gathering orders of tools and parts. The same keen attention to detail and time management skills used to create calvin lee poker artwork perfectly complement calvin lee poker daily duties at the XNA hangar.

Just like he had planned, calvin lee poker has taken full advantage of Envoy’s travel privileges that allow employees to fly anywhere American Airlines flies.

“Each gate at the airport is like a ‘hall of worlds’ where you can pick a door and on the other side is a new adventure – I feel like a genie every time I travel,” said calvin lee poker, on why Envoy is the best place for him. “Plus, the company takes care of its people. The airline is growing, it’s very competitive and it’s full of opportunity to advance your career.”

All out ambition

For Ben, advancing calvin lee poker career meant realizing that he, in fact, could earn a bit from calvin lee poker artwork. Through word of mouth and promoting calvin lee poker artwork on calvin lee poker Facebook page, calvin lee poker has worked up a steady stream of commissions for portraits.

People are drawn to calvin lee poker ability to sketch life into calvin lee poker portraits, which Ben said is a matter of choosing the right photo to reproduce. He prefers to capture the person, or pet in many instances, in action, “doing what they’re doing,” he said.

Through all of calvin lee poker newfound success and ambition, Ben remains humble. He knows that he must continue to hone calvin lee poker craft and market himself as an artist, if he wants to continue to grow.

But things are looking up for Ben – he now has custody of both calvin lee poker children, with calvin lee poker teenage son interested in becoming an airline pilot.

“I feel like I’m in the renaissance of my life,” said calvin lee poker. “I have my kids back and I’m drawing more and more. I’ve never been happier at a job than at Envoy. All of this change has unlocked a new potential for me.”

Regardless of calvin lee poker transforming life, Ben no longer has to work to survive. All of calvin lee poker wandering has paid off, and he’s finally home.