Though I had formal training
under several art teachers, most of my education came from other more advanced
artists that made their living doing some type of creative work.
This helped me evolve and
discover new and exciting techniques, plus expand my visual ability to take
reality and derive new ideas for art projects.
Logging 27+ years working in
front of the public. The experience of one-on-one with the customer can grow on
you.
An artist can gain first hand
feedback from those interactions, and form a connection that is only possible
in a personal setting such as this.
Many of those years were
spent on the road working festivals and shows. I travel less these days, while
spending more time in the studio and enjoying nature with a camera.
There are several mediums
that have captured my attention over the years, and that I have spent the most
time with:
* Airbrush: A good tool for
speed. If you want to get a large area covered quickly, then this does the job.
It has some limitations like any tool, but for laying down lots of line and
color, you can't beat it.
* Pen and Ink: I don't know.
For me, there's something about drawing with dip pens that captures feelings
that may have been there even before I was old enough to draw a stick figure.
The bold directness, and the challenge of having only one shot to get it right,
is fascinating to me.
* Pencil; This tool is very
close to my basic need to 'just draw something.'
You may think that any old
pencil should work when an artist grabs a marking tool, and you are right! But
for me, I have to have the best. I searched the web for days trying to come up
with the best pencil money can buy.
There's a consensus among
artists, that the Palomino is king of the hill. So this is what I use now for
many projects.
* Watercolor; there's so many
ways to use it, and so many colors. I will sometimes do pen work and put a
watercolor wash over it.
One thing I like about using
them is that the preparation process is minimal. You can open the box, dip a
wet brush, and swipe the paper with color in only a few seconds.
There's much more I could say
about each of these mediums, but I'll save that for another part of the blog.
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