Over the past few days, I have been asked some questions regarding my artwork. I am happy to answer.
Here we go...
Kinda long...
My grateful heart swells when asked if my artwork is for sale.
Yes. Sure, it is! Funny though...how would you have ever known, right? I am working on getting myself ready to sell online...most likely via Etsy.com. And now that I have said it to you all, I am going to
really have to do it! Hahaha!
In the meantime, if there is a piece you are curious about, feel free to contact me. My email is on my profile page.
Jennifer asked if my art is too personal to sell.
Nope.
The scary part is revealing it!
Dan asked why I have the curvy necks in my drawings. Before I answer that, I will go back a wee bit further and explain why I draw the way I draw. Oh! And it is okay to laugh at the story. I recently told it to a friend and he was doubled over in laughter!
I loved drawing as a kid. My mom told me one of the first things she remembers me drawing was a page filled with tiny smiley faces. She thinks I must have been about three.
When I reached adolescence my drawing skills flourished if was drawing from a photograph or a still life - and that carried me through Junior High and High School. But then there was one particular moment that planted a deep seed.
When I was around 17, I had hit my stride drawing from photographs. Keep in mind this was the age when deep self-loathing and low self-esteem started to take over my heart. My dad was showing my latest drawing to his girlfriend. He said, "Isn't Jenny a great artist?" It was her reply that stung.
"Oh...you're not really an artist, you're more of a copiest," she plainly stated.
Ouch! Bitch. Hahaha!
A couple of years later, I had a terrible crush on a gay man. (laughter ensues...) I was riddle with self- loathing and my heart belonged to a gay man. Where did I think that would go? Haha!
One particular night, riddled with this particular anguish and pity, I sat at my art table and decided I didn't want to be a "copiest."
My heart told my pencil what to draw.
It was a beautiful drawing, I must admit. And it sold at the very first art show I ever did!
The girlfriend's comment...crushing on a gay man...self-loathing...opening my heart...HA!...it changed everything. I learned to draw from my heart - and keep my sanity.
So, why the curvy necks?
Two answers.
1. At the time my drawing took a shift, I was living with a friend. She had the most beautiful long, thin neck! When she bent her head forward there truly was a tender, graceful line that curved down the back of her neck.
2. It all began the summer of 1983. My family had rented a place at the beach for the summer. The building was three stories. We stayed on the bottom floor; the two upper floors were rented to permanent residents.
The third story resident had ducklings on his patio. They were protected by chicken wire. Or so was thought...
My eleven year old self was reading
James and the Giant Peach in a chair by the front sliding door. Out of the corner of my eye I kept seeing something fall, followed by a curious sound. Needless to say, the ducklings had escaped through their enclosing and were falling from the third floor down to our patio. I ran outside! Two had fallen - two more fell as I stood there.
Through tear filled eyes, I frantically scooped the soft, warm, fuzzy yellow ducklings up in my arms; their broken necks dangled over my forearm. Sobbing, I ran up the flights of stairs and pounded on the door to return the ducklings to their owner.
There you go.
The curvy necks symbolize the soft tenderness AND the deep sadness of life.
Thank you.
I appreciate your questions and support! Truly, it means so much to me! I bare my soul in my art but somehow think that I can still remain invisible in life. I know I can no longer live that path. This blog has been a safe and beautiful way for me to come out of my bubble. Those of you that have come along for the ride...I am deeply grateful.
Drawing - One of my very early "heart" drawings, 1991.
