Chunkies, Skinnies, Inchies, and Twinchies

I opened an art group with the same title on a different art site. It has been open now for 10 days and it is by invitation only. There is a reason for that. Some people deem themselves artists because a parent or teacher is supporting them through encouragement and that it fine. Way to support the arts! However, in doing so, there are those who have not reached the status by which people would be happy to receive cards from especially when the recipients went through school and practiced their craft. In any event, it hasn't taken off as well as I had hoped. Nevertheless, it doesn't discourage me to continue to produce more cards then I ever have. I thought I would create a new card everyday for the New Year, but then I thought it would be too much pressure for me to go through. We will see in the coming weeks just before the New Year. With that I am posting cards that have already been traded, but if you see something that intrigues you, by all means - contact me here or through gmail, and I will contact you shortly thereafter.

These were fun to do and there are scores more. All but the one in green have been traded. It is funny I did two elderly and one middle aged card. i thought they were interesting and have so much character but wasn't as well received as I hoped; though the green middle aged one is still available.

I did get on a geisha kick and created some because of the interest of one woman. She flaked on me though but it still didn't take away from the others who were interested inn what was requested.

I found this culture so fascinating, I began drawing larger works along with other cultures. I will post them sometime next month. In the mean time, you can trade or purchase these cards and many others on http://atcsforall.com and for the larger pieces of artwork please visit my gallery: http://leonora.redbubble.com/

Art Shows The Disposition of the Times or The Artist

I think when I draw I am at my most happiest. The colors exemplify this as well as the expressions; however there are those times where black and white will satisfy my creativity like no other medium. What it conveys to other is surprising to me. With these next few pics, try to understand even when I wasn't feeling too sexy, it still came through to where it is what people were asking me. How does it come through to you?

Here is another that caused people to stare.

And finally, I was trying not to have favorites with any of them, but couldn't help myself.

I recall being determined to make enough images to have a calendar. Too many times while in the midst of creating, the muse or mood is lost and you never get back to what you had the first thought to do. Not with these images though, Once I got started, I didn't stop until all twelve were completed. It was fun to do.

During the depression and war times, artist did try to create to help people not think of their current situation, but how successful were they? It was before my time. However now, the art work I have seen is of gore, death, and absolutely strange things. Don't artists care anymore to recreate a positive mood for the viewers anymore? Does the gore sell better than happier times? I wondered about the matter and still in finishing my first gothic image, I still couldn't manage to draw the carnage that has been going on in the news today.

Recently on another website, I listed what I liked and didn't like to receive with card swaps. My list consisted of what many artists like to draw, blood, gore, and carnage. Before finishing that list, people were so jovial with me and then the attitude changed. It was as if I dared to specifically request what seemed to have become their specialty. Why would it be a challenge to draw something more positive? Would that it could be artists to change the disposition of a nation, still Jesus is Lord!

Leave a comment and if interested email me.

Artist Trading Cards

I went back to drawing after so many decades out of boredom. I am at this place of employment where there is a lot of waiting and keeping still. It is a testy of my patience and could possibly be the best time for me to rest seeing I haven't had a vacation- ever!

Well last year as I was browsing through the internet, I came upon this website for artists and photographers. I was intrigued and knew it was something to keep me busy. I had been crocheting until I just couldn't stand it anymore. From pot holders to afghans. I contemplated making a long sweater but it would have taken entirely too much patience to count the stitches and do it again for the other side. Drawing was something I stopped doing because it also took a lot of time and it wasn't a cheap hobby to have. Not to mention being discouraged that there wasn't much interest in art work these days having to only click and drag to create a master piece without even a drop of talent, passion, or desire behind it.

I browsed through the website quite impressed with the work I saw especially the illustrations and line work exhibited. It was practically the same feeling I got as a child when I saw my 6 th grade substitute teacher do a portrait of a child in class. I watched with amazement and knew it was what I desired to do as well.

That was all well and good but I had to know more. I took some classes and read many books. I still had to practice. And just when I thought one piece was well enough to post, I saw someone else's that was just extraordinary. I had to practice some more. It was a year of drawing almost daily until when I looked at someone else's work, I was no longer ashamed of my own.

When satisfied with what I allowed for the public to see, I didn't see the sales that I hoped. The work was getting some recognition in various parts of the country and other continents but the sales weren't moving. It was just then when I came upon the term ATC. I did my research and thought who would be interested in drawing on such a small canvas and trade with other artists? Apparently it is as popular as those hack y-sack cards.

I started off my first ATC wearing magnifying glasses and using a magnifying mirror. It wasn't long before I didn't need those tools and my work was getting requested rather than me asking.

Here is what my first ATC looks like:

Here is one of my latest card:

I am selling these cards as well for 10.00 a piece. If interested, please leave your email address in the comments section.

Paper, Pencils, and Markers - Oh My!

I have been drawing since I was a young child. First it was stick figures, of course and then, I think because of curiosity, I started drawing the human figure.

I colored with crayons as we all did in school but felt it was clumsy and never really got in the corners the way I would have liked. Then the introduction to the skinnier crayon made coloring so much nicer, yet there were those pesky skipped spots that wax just does. Still, it was all I knew.

Later, I learned of colored pencils. We had to use them for coloring maps. I didn't like these. The texture was limited and it took so much time to do such a large body of work. It just didn't have the range that the crayon, even with its own limitations. However, once out of grade school, I relaxed those artistic talents. Boys seemed more interesting.

In High School, I finished a large portion of my curriculum earlier than I expected and was looking for something interesting to enhance that learning experience before embarking into college. I saw the art classes seemingly for the first time and decided - why not?

I don't know what I expected being the first time in an art class and in my senior year. Should there have been those who really liked art and could pose a challenge to me? Or maybe some that just needed a free period and found art to be relaxing? I was intrigued. I found the class of approximately 25 students and out of those there were two that were looking for opponents, I suppose just like I was. We squared off each session making one portrait after the other. It was all graphite and I thought I had found my niche.

In my first year of college, I took still life and life drawing. My first assignment was a crumpled bag. The class was to draw our own crumbled brown paper bag in graphite. Initially, I thought the assignment was stupid until I tried to unfold the bag and saw what the teacher was expecting. It was very different and I could not contend with it. It was much too hard to do. I watched an architect major run his pencil over the drawing paper as if he had been there before - maybe a tracing. That would best explain and settle in my mind how his finished work looked much like a photograph. I had no niche.

Somehow I actually passed that class with a decent grade. I don't recall how as my work consisted of watching that architect student finish piece after piece that should have hung in a gallery rather than smashed in his make shift art carrier. I knew after that class I was going to draw better than I had ever before.

The following semester, I had the second course to Still Life. The instructor created a display and had the class draw it. I took my time, remembering the architect last semester. I didn't finish the whole piece (which was a Grecian bust, dust brush, a challis, a folded cloth, and some sort of background). I took so much time on the dust brush but lined out all of the other pieces. The instructor stood next to me. I suppose she was looking at what technique I was using. I had no technique... not that I knew of. After some time she made the comment, "you did so well on that brush. It looks like you could just lift it off of the paper." I found my niche again.

What I realized was even without having a specific technique, i did pick up some things from that architect student that I did not learn in high school or in that first semester in college. It was the different softness of graphite lead. Why didn't the teachers mention that? I couldn't tell you, but in studying that student, I learned more then I had in all of the years I have been taking and enjoying art.