My Art

I am not the greatest artist out there, but I do like to think I am good enough to be seen and appreciated. I am not institute educated, or have a degree in my art, but this is me. (I am a self-taught artist.) And maybe my art isn't to everyone's taste, but I do work hard at creating the picture. I create a story with my drawings.

This is because I constantly have stories going on in my head. My mind is geared toward fiction and fantasy. Don't get me wrong, I am very aware of the world we live in, and aware of the social issues we face. But my art and my stories are my escape. I have never been one to create stories or art for the purpose of trying to make a statement or relay a message. No, I want to give people something the can see, read and experience so that they can escape with me into the world I created.

For me, that world is the world of myths, legends and lore. Notably Faerie (fairy) lore. I love the Faerie world! It's full of magic and mischief. Full of beauty and vibrant life.

And dragons... but more on them later!

Faeries are everywhere, literally, when you read the lore. They are in nature, they are in the soul of the Earth. Indeed they are nature spirits. And the things I associate the most with faeries are trees and those beautiful forests where things are untouched, because, you can't have faerie lore without plant lore or tree lore. They mesh together.

How Do You Do It?

Everyone always asks me how I come up with my ideas for each piece. And that is a complicated answer—as it always is with any artist—but I do try to explain. Usually, however, I get this glazed look as I am explaining, so, my answer is usually a generic one: "I see ideas everywhere."

Which, when you think about it, that is very true. My Mom and I have a running joke between us about what people would think if they heard our conversations. This is because, she and I can be looking at something and we both think of the same idea for a drawing. It doesn't matter if it's a cloud in the sky, a picture of a garden gate, or a picture of a butterfly, she and I usually have the same train of thought.

So, my ideas come from a lot of things. From the world around me. The real world, not the one I'd prefer to live in.

So, What Are Those Ideas?

I find some of my ideas from fashion magazines. Think about it, some of the settings for either the photo-stories in the magazine or the adverts for the jewelry, perfume, or clothing are pretty imaginative. I look at some of the pictures and think: "Hey! That looks like a Satyr!" or "Look at the way that dress is billowing out in the breeze, that looks like faerie wings!" So, out comes the picture from the mag, and it eventually gets transformed into a creature or being from a Realm we can only dream about.

Ballet dancers are a good subject for my dancing faeries. Ballet dancers are so delicate, graceful and beautiful to look at and to watch. So, when they become faeries, to me, they are even more so.

Faces, especially close ups, are great for me to just play around with. I can turn them into anything, from just a beautiful portrait to a pretty faerie queene.

Butterflies are a good source for those beautiful wings. Butterflies, moths, DRAGONFLIES, and of course leaves. Faeries are nature, so why wouldn't a faerie have wings made of leaves?

How Do You Draw Those Things?

Then there's the dragons... told ya we'd get back to them!

I love dragons, they have always fascinated me.

But how do I come up with an idea for a dragon? Well, for one thing, we have dragons in our world. It's true! Look at any lizard, crocodile/alligator, or bird of prey and you see a dragon. Even a dinosaur was a dragon, because they were the precursor of either reptiles or birds, depending on the species.

I combine different animals to form a dragon. The body comes from a lizard or a pterodactyl. The head can be lizard or crocodile, maybe even bird of prey (the beak). The wings are either bird of prey or pterodactyl. The talons strictly bird of prey. I either make him/her scaled or feathery depending on my idea. Then I put it all together to create a one-of-a-kind dragon.

And, yes, I draw traditional dragons, too.

That was a little bit about how I create my pieces. Like I said, I may not be the greatest artist out there, but I do feel my work. That is me. That is how I do.

And I hope that the people seeing this will feel it, too.