I am always up for a challenge, and this was an interesting one: draw an abstract. The founder of the Colored Pencil Society put out this call to CP artists, who traditionally render subjects in a more realistic manner. She wanted to challenge us.
Sounds simple, right? Not quite. When you are new to art and don’t even really grok the concept of abstract art, creating it can be a tall order.
So I did what most folks do when the big question mark appears: start Googling.
Good idea, right? Not quite. Google offered “helpful” suggestions like putting your paper on the floor and splattering paint on it. Sounds like a recipe for creating a drop cloth. This method also doesn’t play nice with pencils. When you splatter them, they break.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. One day last summer, I pulled into my bank’s parking lot next to the most beautiful motorcycle, ever. The Harley was chromed everywhere and sparkled in the sun, throwing little reflected fireballs every direction.
I spent the next five or ten minutes taking photos of that wondrous ride, and the next six months knowing I was going to draw it. But how could I really show it off?
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A few months ago, on a whim, I answered a call from Ann Kullberg’s Color Magazine to submit a piece of a possible review in her magazine.
And guess what? Ann picked your girl’s self-portrait — entitled “Work in Progress” — for review in the August, 2016 issue!
There will be no living with me now.
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Mistakes. Sometimes you can cover them up. And other times things go so terribly wrong that all you can really do is cry, shake your first at the heavens, or just give up.
But sometimes it’s even more fun to wade into them and make a real good mess.
Case in point:
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Retreats are for hard-core folks. Professional artists, writers. But me? Take an art retreat? Meh. Not so much.
That is, until I went on one.
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I love synchronicity. You know: when, for instance, one day you regretfully open your last jar of homemade rhubarb chutney, and the very next day somebody gifts you with a big bag of fresh homegrown rhubarb.
Synchronicity feels powerful. You know it when you see it.
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I’m just busting at the seams to tell you: this piece, Rustic Blues, was selected for inclusion in The Pencil Box section of the February 2016 issue of Color magazine. This is the premier magazine for colored pencil artists, and I am massively honored — pinching self! — to have “Rustic Blues” included. Next stop, the centerfold! <titter>
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Strange name, right? But when I explain the reasons behind it, you’ll see why the name is flat-out perfect.
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