The passing of Brian Nolan has come to a shock to everyone in this hobby who knew him; I only knew him through meeting him at the shows, in particular CSS. I'd seen his work in the magazines as well and like most of us, was in awe of his talent.
Upon returning from a show one of the more lingering thoughts was that the next time I sit down at the workbench, I want to make something that looked as good as Brian's modeling. It hasn't happened yet, but as Brian would tell me in the few conversations we had about the subject, " Just keep doing it."
It's so important in any endeavor, no matter the category to find encouragement. Either from friends or family; positive reinforcement is vital to everything we do. It underlines our reason for being, our reason for doing whatever it is the heck we are doing in life. Encouragement helps answer the What's-the-Point question.
And here is Brain, who barely knew me at all, taking the time to tell me to keep at it and not just modeling. I'd share with him a couple of thoughts about how hard it is to make a living selling kits, his reply was the same, " Just keep doing it."
I've known people for years, friends or family, who've never offered that kind of reinforcement that Brain, essentially a stranger to me, offered in 15 minutes. It's a rare thing. He was a rare person; there are few like him. Which is why this is such dreadful news. We all need more people like him- we could all aspire to be more like him.
