Roger Irvin Skelton

Roger Irvin Skelton
Master of Time and Space

My Story

Originally from Long Island, New York, I moved to Nassau, Bahamas in 1957 when my father was transferred there with a subsidiary of U. S. Steel. Leaving NewYork during a blizzard, and being welcomed by blooming hibiscus upon landing in Nassau, I became enamoured with the islands. I often paint tropical scenes using Caribbean colours. I attended British parochial schools in Nassau for seven years before moving to Miami to complete my education. My early background was in photography, the rudiments of which I learned from my father. I decided to pursue a career in filmmaking. Prior to an automobile accident in February 1980, I was a serious tennis player, a University of Miami graduate, and an employee of EcoTherm Solar Systems, a company in which I had worked my way up to vice-president and part owner. In 1980, I sustained a traumatic brain injury after being hit by a drunk driver. On February 28, 1980, I was going home from a Builder’s Show and I never got home. I was hit by a drunk driver in a head-on collision. I was in a coma for 10 days in a semi-comatose state and hospitalized for two months. My injuries resulted in closed head injury. Closed head injury was a brain stem contusion on the right side of my brain, therefore, my motor skills on my left side were permanently affected. Although I went through traditional channels of rehabilitation, the bulk of my recovery was of my own design. Now, twenty-one years later, I am gaining recognition as a watercolor artist. To supplement my income, I am a certified substitute teacher for Sarasota County, teaching only art classes.