A Childhood Talent

Art was where it started for me. As a kid in elementary school, I was not at the top of the class in most things, So it meant a lot to have that one thing I was exceptional in, which was art. Although in elementary school ability in art was not placed anywhere near as high as being good in sports by the other kids it was something  I could make mine.

During Junior High, art class wasn't available for the first year but  a generous art teacher allowed me to come in after school to do a little bit of art. It was set back for sure but still I was able to develop my artistic talent.

I later found out how the fine art world actually was and I made the decision that I didn't want to be part of it as it was.

I made art whenever I could, because it was what I did.

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Drawings

Like nearly everyone else doing art, I started with drawing. First in graphite pencil, going from common No. 2 pencils to pencils of various hardness and then on to finding in college that I had a knack for a particular technique in charcoal.

I didn't explore drawing as much as I could have but I felt the biggest affinity with charcoal.  I did do some experimentation with it but mostly worked from photographs.

I found the Hollywood portrait photography of the 1930's to have the best tonal range and contrast to work from, plus the photos were just beautifully lit and shot to begin with.

I did try some other subject matter before moving on to painting.

Something I figured out eventually was that color was more valued than black and white and that paintings were valued more than drawings. Additionally I figured out that oil paintings held rank over acrylics, with watercolors valued least. Of course the most valued mediums were also the most expensive to do, a drawback for many people.

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Paintings

Watercolor was the medium I ended up being most prolific in mostly because it was relatively inexpensive. I did some one off experiments and eventually came up with the idea of doing a show consisting of cat themed paintings of which I managed to sell a modest amount of originals and reproductions.

I tried acrylics once but didn't really like how they worked and found I had better results with oils. I had a few commissions with both watercolors and oils.

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Prints

The area that seemed to hold the promise for an actual art career was prints which could be done in multiples and sold at a price more affordable to the average person. I lacked the required equipment so I took advantage of that made available through an open studio printmaking class.

I had my two small art shows where I sold about $200 of works at each of them. Most that was sold was reproductions of watercolors as well as a few original prints.

I have kept doing fine art for my personal satisfaction. I haven’t gotten as far as doing sculpture  but I may still pursue it one day.

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