David's Another Point of View

Don Stewart is a local treasure that creates amazing composite art. We'll talk to him about leaving a medical career to follow his passion in Art, where he gets his ideas, and take calls from our audience. Don Stewart received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Art at Birmingham-Southern College in 1981, paying his way with a nightclub act as a comic ventriloquist. Initially he enrolled in art classes as a change of pace from a rigorous premedical curriculum. Soon, however, he was exposed to the idea of composite imagery, and began exploring techniques in ballpoint drawing - even when a professor refused to allow the pen in his studio. Don continued to pursue artistic interests as a hobby during medical training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After receiving his M.D. in 1985, Dr. Stewart  completed an internship in surgery at the Mayo Clinic, but the lifestyle of a surgical resident clashed with his creative side. By year’s end, Don opted to discontinue his medical studies, after accepting awards for both short fiction and poetry, and publishing his first two composite drawings. The author of two books, he currently limits his medical practice to disorcers of the funny bone.