My artistic ah ha moment, was the acceptance of being an illustrator, who loves using all sorts of media. I’d always introduce myself as a painter. Not! My use of Gouache paint is exceeded by my ink renderings.  The types of ink pens I used, are easily evident when looking at my drawings. I loved using a Rapidiograph until about the fifth one broke from a heavy-handed user who borrowed it to write a quick note. Lesson learned, I switched to Sakura 00, Pentel Super-Fine, Pilots & Ball Point. The progression was from expensive to least expensive and back to Sakura pens which are still available, in beautiful colors.

My categorized hundreds of drawings, are of various subjects to paint as “subtle stories”.  So here’s the story about the image directly above this text.  I remember being intrigued with the distinctly different angles of the installed wooden brackets that supported the bathroom shelf.  They were my starting point of an ink drawing. Everything atop the shelf,  date back to the 1980s.  This is what I’m referring to as an artist’s memory food.  I could look at anyone of these items and remember the circumstance of obtaining it or the occasion the item represents.

During that decade, I’d established my professionalism. I secured an art business license, disciplined myself beyond an impoverish street artist lifestyle by accepting a decently paid position in an non-art job. Parallel to my day job, I became a prolific sketcher of musicians as they performed, landmarks I happened upon, and still life (s) I arranged, like the image above…

All I’ve said so far, is the substrate upon which this particular story developed as a Gouache painting. Actually this is a Mixed Media Artwork. So, let’s start left on the shelf, where I placed an artist mannequin I obtained.  It was my first “nude” sculpture. It is such a typical object used by artists who create figurative art.  The clown was withdrawn from a delicious birthday cake and saved for that memory.  The candle was scented and represents my shift to being sensitive towards others, who can’t tolerate chemically induced scents. Now I can’t either.  The oversize glass vase was one of the first gifts to myself.  I love gladiolas. Their height requires a tall vase.  The marbles and dry flowers within the vase remind me of two dear friends. Oh the monkeys! they now live on the kitchen sink. Their’s a sad story that goes along with them, that surfaces to the front of my mind much to often.  The book, has noted along its spine, the title of this painting “I Still Have All My Marbles” Enlarge the image to see this detail.  I’m an avid reader, a pre-requisite I feel, for fulfilling requests of commissions about subjects unfamiliar to me.  The unexpected technique of realism, is used to depict the bowl. It also presents another level of my competency for anyone viewing or considering my artistic talent for something.  The significance of the bowl, is that I would use it to start seedlings.  Having a green thumb seems a natural state for an artist who on occasion, gets paint on their hands.

To know what you’re running your fingers along beneath the shelf,  there is the repetition of a photo of a tree seed pod.  Many photos of exactly the same image were glued to the illustration board which is my base surface.  A center space was left uncovered to include an intimate size painting done in an impressionist approach. The children are resemblances of my siblings.

That was a quite a bit to share so that you’re better informed about this image.

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