My creative impulses have continued to stay in the vein of the visual, but have started to move more towards the practical. First, the visual...
In the last post I showed my first attempts at trying my hand at drawing with color, but have since tried a bit more disciplined approach, as I have never dealt with anything but crayons and acrylic paint when I've dabbled in color manipulation. I decided to really give colored pencils a go, and it has been a learning process in technique, as it takes a little more fore-thought to create the effects that I have been going for.
The results? I only have two "finished" pieces to show for the last month or so, but I took my time to get a feel for the medium, tedious at first, but I quickly started to get a feel for the blending. The first was made as a tattoo idea for someone...one that won't end up being used for its purpose, but going through that process yielded an evolution of form and style in my sketching- one that I don't regret.
My initial thought with an hour glass is its inherent symbolism of life and death. One of my first full fledged attempts yielded this-
The above incarnation was shelved (for the purposes of a tattoo) in hopes of something more traditional and less ornate. Honestly, the last sketch was the most challenging for me as an artist. I reigned myself in on ornamentation and details....almost entirely.
My next exercise came out of no where. I had finished the colored hour glass while on a business trip, and while on the flight home with a coworker, I noticed a giant picture in the in-flight magazine he was reading. I asked him to tear it out for me and started sketching immediately at 30,000 miles-
No matter what, all these pieces have taught me a lot about mediums, details, taking direction, as well as about myself as an artist. Having never really taken the time to develop my talents at an earlier time, I came to understand the major thing that has always held me back- impatience.
I have always gotten so caught up in the final vision of my ideas that I struggled with the required patience to actually achieve it. The most useful thing that I have gotten from all of this is the lesson of patience in the task at hand- relishing the art of each step and understanding that it's the only way I will attain the whole of my vision. A very transferable lesson.
My next project is taking shape. I needed a way to store all of my earrings and necklaces, and after seeing a clever device made by a friend of mine, I decided to see what I could do. She took a picture frame and mounted some finely meshed screen in it- perfect for viewing all your options at once.
I went to the thrift store and found a frame that I was pleased with, then went to the craft store to get some ideas. It's barely started- it took everything in me to not rush through the whole process to make it, but here's the start-
That is my art journey up to this moment. Lots to learn and hone still, but I feel that someday my hopes of actually being able to make a living off of such things is possible! These are the first baby steps towards a larger work as well...