Trip for Visual Stimulation

Speaking of my friend Jason, we're planning a trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in a couple of weeks. We're so excited about all of the sights! Jason used to live there, so he knows all the great places to visit. We'll both be spending a little time in Jackson Square with the other artists, hanging out and passing out business cards. We'll also be taking tons of pictures to do drawings from. Basically, we're going to "vampire central"--so we should be able to get some amazing new, fresh ideas..

New Orleans is the home of Anne Rice--the author of several awesome vampire novels, including "Interview with the Vampire". Also home to Charlaine Harris, author of the "Sookie Stackhouse" series of books. These are the books that inspired the HBO vampire series, "True Blood". Great vampire series, and of course, set in Louisiana. If you're into vampires, check it out.

Here's the latest update on the portrait of my daughter and her husband. It's going a little slow right now, because I'm spending way too much time planning our New Orleans trip!!

Fresh Beginnings

This is going to be my attempt to share my journey. There have been so many changes in my life recently . . . in the past year I have divorced, my daughter turned 18 and got married and, . . . since I'm now out on my own; I have decided to make a go at making art my livelihood. This is a scary journey, but necessary and I'm sure it will be filled with many ups as well as downs. I'm also sure it will be a journey of much exploration and growth.

I've been taking classes at my local art center (Middletown Art Center) for about 4 years now. I started out with drawing, then added watercolors, calligraphy, color theory, and acrylic painting. I have learned so much in that time. I've been like a sponge, but there is so much more to learn! I made a decision: I wanted to pick a medium and work to become skilled with it. I chose pencils (both colored and graphite): my first love. I am currently still in the drawing class and I've added a digital photography class this term.

Part of the healing from my divorce included watching movies and hanging out with a good friend. He happens to love horror movies and movie make-up. This past fall, he worked at a haunted trail and I got the opportunity to help him with his costume and take photos of the trail behind the scenes. Just for fun one evening, he dressed as a vampire and I took some photos.

I became inspired and began a colored pencil drawing of the vampire. And passion was born! My drawing instructor has been my biggest cheerleader. My work was different enough from the normal at the art center that it began to draw some attention. People would wander into class to see what I was up to. The director has offered gallery space October 2009 for a "Halloween" show of my dark pieces!