Ever since I can remember, the subject of my drawings has mostly been animals. I feel like I have a deep connection with the natural world, and I want to show it through my art.
After several years of trying different media, I have settled on two that I really connect with: charcoal for black and white and colored pencils for color. I love seeing a drawing come to life on the paper, and these media do that for me.
A work of art begins long before the pencil touches the paper. I frequently have an idea pop into my head while not actively thinking of projects to work on. I might see a bird fly overhead, read a comment in the paper, or see a picture online that will give me the inspiration. I keep a list of all the drawings I want to do and pick one that I feel compelled to work on at that moment. Once I have a pose in mind, I'll do research online. I look for the flow and color of fur or feathers, the proportions of facial features and any details that will make my drawing realistic. Then I set up the sketch. I do this on paper even if I am doing a woodburning, and then transfer the sketch to the wood once it is finalized. The eyes are always first to be drawn; if they don't look right, the whole image won't look right. Then I outline other features like the nose and mouth, ears, large sections of fur, and blocks of color or changes in tone. I fill in fur or feathers and shading from the eyes out to the edge of the face, then the neck and beyond if applicable, and finish by adding detail where necessary.
The majority of my pieces are of animals, but I also enjoy depicting other aspects of nature, including astronomy and even mathematics. I dabble in several media, but my favorites are charcoal, colored pencil and pyrography. Pyrography combines the look of graphite, with its varying shades, with the indelibility of ink onto a piece of nature itself while exhibiting a rich brown tone. I love the elegant simplicity of these monochromatic media.
