A little bit of progress since my last post. There must be some sort of cabin fever going on here, since I have not been happy enough to settle down to the drawing board. An overwhelming feeling of being cramped and claustrophobic overtakes my being. Today, my time was spent rearranging my small space to make it open up around the area where my table is at. The new layout seems to have done the trick for the time being and as a result a few hours were put into the piece. As you can see, the hair needs a whole lot more dark added to the shadows! ;)
I have been sorting through my art books lately and organizing shelves, which has sent me into a reflective mood... So many artists are born with such distinct styles. Ever since I was young, my drawings have been mapped out by the shadows. My drawings can start anywhere on a subject, since the whole isn't of interest to me in the beginning. The subject is just a mass of intricate interconnecting light and dark shapes to me. Although I have thoroughly enjoyed moments of life sketching and free flowing lines, my detailed work has always been built up this way.
These thoughts were floating around in my head today, because I happened across one of Lee Hammond's art books. She is an artist who's experiences and techniques overlapped many of mine and to whom I attribute the push in my work to smooth Bristol board and layered blending. When viewing her work for the first time in over a few years, I was amazed at how different our finished products were. Her art has more of an airbrushed/polished finish. Mine still allows for the shifts in surface planes to show through-- a more sketchy like feel. It was a little bit of a shock for me to see our differences in style when using similar techniques.
I don't know where this train of thought is going... Just a little rambling, I guess... Although it has been 25 years since being in college, I can still hear my art professor (who I admired greatly and did great battle with ;) ) tell me that she could always pick my art out on the display wall. I must admit that I took it as an insult for a moment. Then, she turned to me and said that having a distinct style is not a bad thing. :)
Maybe my mind just needs some questions to ponder... My belief has always been that artists are born with their talent... But can a style be altered or changed? How do other artists view their subjects... as a whole all the time, in parts or in small details? Do they see lines or the shading that lies within them? It would be narrow minded of me to think that we all see things the same way. Life has shown me that is not true. Being one of three siblings that draw, I can honestly tell you that none of the three have the same style. Just another thought to ponder for the night! :)
