A Little About Me

Recently, the folks at Patience Brewster found my blog and asked if I would share about myself as an artist in accordance with the recent Artist Appreciation month. I appreciate Patience Brewster for reaching out to me. I am always encouraged when I get emails and requests from people I don't know who want to get to know me or support me in some way. Patience Brewster makes beautiful hand crafted Christmas ornaments. 

I hope you enjoy getting to know me a little better through these questions. 

1. As a child, do you recall a significant moment when you felt truly affected or inspired by any particular artwork or artist?

   The artist that influenced me growing up was my dad. Although he probably wont admit that he is an artist, his ability to see and recreate cartoons on anything from paper to birthday cakes inspired me as a child to do the same. He would always stop whatever he was doing to help me with my drawings or to teach me something new. My dad is the reason I draw, both genetically and by inspiration. Even today, with my skills beyond his, I still rely on his help. He has an amazing eye for seeing the tiniest details or changes I need to make to improve my drawings. He will always be the first person I go to if I need someone to give me a solid critique. Many people, even fellow artists, look at my unfinished drawings and think they are done, but my dad and I have the same standard of "complete". He understands what I am asking for when I call on him for help. I love my dad and I am am grateful for his love and investment in my life.

2. As an artist, what do you hope to convey with your work?

    At this point in my career I am mainly doing commissions. People will see my work and ask me to draw a portrait for them. A commonality in all my drawings is focus on detail. I draw exactly what I see in the photos I am given. If you has wrinkles or gray hairs, I'm drawing your wrinkles and gray hairs. Sometimes people want me to draw them younger, but I believe that what we look like is part of our uniqueness and our life story. I love drawing people as they are. Whatever makes you unique is what I love to draw. I want people to be happy with how they look and not be ashamed of getting older or being overweight or any of the other "problems" our society judges.   

3. What memorable responses have you had to your work?

  

    Since my artwork is photo-realistic (looks like a black & white photo) I have a lot of people think that my drawings are actually photographs. One time I submitted a drawing to a fundraiser expecting that it would be taken by someone, but the drawing never got chosen and I was shocked. I know that sounds arrogant, but everyone who saw it prior to the event told me they wanted it, so I assumed it would be chosen. I talked to some of the guests after the event and almost all of them thought my drawing was a photograph and that is why no one chose it. That reasoning made sense because if it had been a photograph, I probably wouldn't have chosen it either.

   Another memorable response was when a grandmother cried after seeing the commission I drew of her granddaughters. It feels great to bring joy to people through my drawings. 

4. What is your dream project?

   I have two dream projects so far. One is to do drawings of veterans. I have a lot of veterans in my family and feel that all veterans should be given recognition for the sacrifices they have made for our country. I am currently getting an opportunity to work with National Geographic photographers Robert Miller and Andrew Wakeford on a book that highlights veterans. You can see my blog post on it here. Another project I want to do is to draw my interpretations of all of Jesus' parables in the bible as well as biblical concepts in order to help grow and challenge my fellow believers in Christ.  

5. What artists, of any medium, do you admire? (Famous or not!)

    I am inspired by M.C. Escher, Alphonse Mucha and Caravaggio. Each of these artists has a very different style. I am inspired by Escher's attention to detail and his ability to create visually interesting scenes that combine Math and Art (tessellations). With Mucha, I am inspired by his posters that combine realistic figures and dark outlines usually associated with illustrations and cartoons. I also love the Art Nouveau era, which Mucha is apart of. Lastly Caravaggio inspires me with his use of chiaroscuro, the use of extreme lights and and shadows. As a black and white artist, I am very interested in light and how it moves around figures and objects.