and learnt, and these teachings grow the soul. I have seen this many times. A beginner student is almost always quite daunted at the prospect of putting pencil to paper, brush to canvas. Whether self-taught, working with a tutorial or teacher, the student begins the journey of creating. Along this journey, techniques are learnt, skills are gained, mistakes are made, new understandings emerge, results happen, some happy, some not so. This process is also reflected with more experienced artists, with each artwork presenting its own unique challenges. My understanding is an artwork chooses you at whatever level you are at, that is reflective of how it either needs or wants to be interpreted and reflected to the world, whether that world is just with you or to a larger audience. An artwork to me has its own soul and is a living energy, sometimes tangible, at other times, intangible. For me, an artwork always starts as a vision in my head. I see it sometimes clearly, other times as a teasing on the outer peripheral of my mind. Inspiration is sparked in many ways. It can be from a personal observation, a comment, poem, passage in a book, a song. I get motivated by other amazing artists and their artworks. I sometimes see a photo or a picture and it triggers a whole range of possibilities. Nature herself is an endless supply of inspiration, being her amazing creatures large and small, her colour palette I find in my very own garden, her incredible displays in the sky, the world in a dewdrop on a leaf at sunrise, the most amazing colour combinations within a bug when you get up close and study it. I find Mother Earth can show you how it’s done like no other, she is the ultimate artist and source of inspiration in our physical divine world. I also work with other people to bring their ideas through, connecting with my client through sharing what they see and want. I see in my mind a possibility of what my client seeks and from there we build upon that until it is what my client wants, and quite often, more, as that is what the artwork is communicating to me. At other times I feel like I am being ‘downloaded’ by an energy external to myself and I am being gifted with this image, and as with all artwork I create, I do my most utmost darnedest to honour it when bringing it through to recreate it on paper or canvas. Interestingly, when working with the conception of an artwork, I write down what I see and want in it. This is my way of grounding my way into its energy and I see it through the words. I feel like I am anchoring into it, it’s the beginning of the solid foundation I want to create. If working with a client, I will also use a series of small sketches to visually express the concepts we are discussing. Following the words, comes research. I have a combination art style, part of it flows through me and I mostly trust myself to work with that flow, part of it
is very detailed, realistic and true to the original reference. If I am using an eagle in my artwork, I research the eagle. I study its anatomy, shape, form, contours, colours, from its beak, head, eyes, its body, legs, feet and talons, its wings, and all its varying feathers. If I am creating an artwork that is of a particular place or country, I will use an eagle that is indigenous to that location or culture. A lot of learning comes with this process, from how to draw the eagle and also the information about it. Once reference images have been selected, it is time to compose the artwork reflective of how it has been perceived or presented. The composition stage of an artwork is an important one, sometimes taking several attempts until creating the basic composition that works. Keeping it simple at this stage, finer details come later. Composition simply put, is how the placement and sizing of images used in the artwork relate to each other. Do the images flow together and are in correct size proportions? Is it easy on the eye or jarring? Most of all, am I happy to work with it? Next comes sketching my chosen composition onto paper or canvas. This is where I take a deep breath and dive in. For me, the scariest part of an artwork is the blank paper or canvas just before I begin. I’m a bundle of nerves questioning my ability to do justice to this artwork and the only way I can face my fears is to just do it! Once sketched, I use techniques, skills, passion and an intuitive knowing, all of which I have learnt and worked with over the years to bring my artwork to life. For the type of art I do, this process happens in many stages and depends on what medium, meaning art product, I use. If I work with paints, watercolour pencils or waterink pencils, I work in many layers, each layer building upon the last. My favourite medium is colour charcoal pencils, with these I can build colour, blend and mix colour on the artwork’s paper. All mediums I have found have their benefits and limitations and that is why I like to use a variety of mediums on one artwork where possible, as I like to work with the best each medium can offer to help bring the artwork to its fullest potential. This is known as mixed media. Experiment with different mediums, by doing so you will find the ones that are natural to you. Quite often the process of creating an artwork for me is like putting together a jigsaw. Not all the details are made known at the conception stage and I find by working through the artwork’s various stages, it lets me know what I need to do when reaching certain phases of its creation, hence the jigsaw analogy. This will happen when contemplating a part of the artwork where I am unsure of what to do. Through contemplation, I am connecting and asking for guidance. I then get a visual ‘download’, sometimes it happens instantly, at other times it comes to me during obscure moments throughout my day when attending to other tasks. In whatever way and time it happens, it is always a delightful moment when a piece of cont’d overleaf