When I started drawing as a child, I usually wanted to achieve realism. That is to say, I learned how to draw strictly by using references. I don’t consider myself to be a particularly “good” realistic drawer – shaaaaading! – but I do know scale, and balance, and accuracy in that regard. When I draw a face, you see who it is immediately. While it’s a calming and satisfying exercise to achieve likeness, it never stimulates me enough creatively. On the other hand, in photography, I want to “work with what I have” and take beautiful photographs of places, people and objects just as they present themselves to me. Sometimes I’ll use a filter (such as for my fractal florals project) but for me the challenge is in using light in a way that uplifts scenery, or capturing the right emotional expression and moments. With conceptual photography, I usually work…
One of the reasons I started exploring digital art, is how easy it is to make adjustments when needed. Corrections or alternate versions are just so easily achieved, and in my brief experience that means I should strive to do my absolute best and focus on the details, much more so than I would with a regular sketch. Sketching to me is usually impulsive, expressive. But these illustrations are meant to be very deliberate, and that’s how I’ll approach them from now on. I made some alterations to my “Fuck You! Love, Me” piece and feel a lot more confident as a (hobbyist) illustrator. And quite comfortable with the process and medium. I am also discovering how much easier it is to include watercolored elements to digital works (something which held me back from doing more with my art, and my more I mean “selling” #SorryNotSorry) and will work on…
If you’ve known me a bit longer, then you’ll know that I occasionally draw and paint. It’s something that comes and goes, but it always comes back again. I’ll spend a few weeks immersing myself in watercoloring or portrait drawing, and then it goes on the backburner for a while. Despite it not being a part of my daily life – for many artists, it’s second nature – I do feel that it’s a part of who I am. My preferred methods have always been traditional. I started with pencil drawings, moved on to acryllic paint in my teens / early twenties, went back to pencil drawings and then finally found a love for ink, watercolor and gouache. But I live and work very digitally as well, as a photographer. And a lot of what I wanted to achieve, didn’t quite fit with the supplies and tools I had at…
Welcome to the new normal. #Anderhalvemetersamenleving I started this blog with the idea that I’d use it several times a week, maybe at some point even daily – as a photo journal, a place to gather ideas, notes, sketches, thoughts. And then Covid-19, or Corona, hit. And society grinded to a halt. I haven’t been able to do much of anything, creatively. My days haven’t even changed much. I’ve been a work at home mom for 3,5 years now. I’m used to so much of this. But the meaning of it all has changed. It was a choice, first. Now it’s a necessity. Everything has more weight and feels heavier. And the pressure has been getting to me. To try and have everything as normal as possible for my kids who are too young to grasp what is going on. To accept that some plans are on hold for now.…