95% of my work is straight up, good ol' fashioned #2 pencil on paper. Sometimes I get fancy and work in marker, colored pencil, watercolor pencil, pastel, or charcoal. One in a blue moon, I'll paint. (Acrylic on wood... for heraldry purposes!) Almost everything I do is a portrait. I find faces just plain
*fascinating*.
Have you had any formal art training?
You mean, other than mandatory “art” in grade school? When I was very young, I used to spend an
hour a week at the house of an artist/friend of the family. You would bring your sketchbook – all other art materials provided – and work on whatever piece of work you were inspired to do. Reference images abounded, and through the hour as you worked quietly, occasionally the artist would stop by and offer a suggestion or two. It was less 'art lessons' and more... guided exploration, I suppose. My last class was in 8th grade – which is also, interestingly, the place I first met Sheri (Koshka).
Where do you find inspiration?
Figure skating, live theater, - especially musical theater! I have a whole series of Les Mis portraits. Also the occasional film, and historical/inspirational people of note. Usually the muse hits me like lightning out of the blue and I think, “I simply must draw him/her/that!”
Has your art been influenced by Realms?Not extensively... yet. I do have a portrait I drew of Panther that I'm rather fond of, and a neat one of Ranger that includes his name in elven, plus and a whole folder of (stolen) pictures of Realmsies I may or may not one day get around to trying my hand at. I love the idea of Realms character portraits.
Approach me about this and give me an excuse...
Where do you share your work?
Everything I do ends up on facebook. The rest – it depends what it is of. I try to share each kind of work with its own fandom... so you'll find my figure skating stuff on those boards, my musicals work in the broadway community, etc.
What project/projects that you've created have you been particularly proud of?
My Lincoln portrait was the first one that really drove home to me that I might actually be *good* at this. That was a surprise, and I still treasure that picture a great deal. I'm also very proud of a charcoal sketch (not my usual medium) of my favorite musical theater actor, Drew Sarich, from his time in Jesus Christ Superstar. I had the chance to meet him at the stage door (he is currently playing Rocky in Hamburg, Germany) and get that particular portrait signed. His reaction? Priceless...!As with any artist it is very difficult to narrow everything down to just a piece or two. But every time I draw someone and share it, and my friends know and recognize who it is and squee over it a little bit – well, that's worth it. I'm especially happy when I pick someone a little more unknown – theater actors really fall into this category – or when a friend or family member commissions me to do a portrait of a loved one. Those are one-of-a-kind and have very special meaning for me.
What projects do you hope to complete in the future?
I have yet to produce a portrait of Maksim Chmerkovskiy that I am happy with. (Yes, shut up.) I have a great Thor/Loki pair, and adding the rest of the Avengers would make for an awesome wall lineup. I also would not at all mind tackling Norm Lewis as the Phantom...
This is the advantage of portraits, I suppose; no limit to the fascinating faces to draw!
What other Realms artist's work do you enjoy?
Honestly, aside from what is posted on the View, I don't get the chance to see the work of many Realms artists. I wish there was some way to incorporate the 'work done over the year' into a showcase or gallery of some sort at a winter feast... I would love to be able to browse through the work of other Realms artists and talk mediums and inspiration. It just doesn't feel like there is a good forum for that right now in the game.