Drawing

I feel that I am good at drawing. I started drawing when I was 8 years old. The first thing I drew was Batman. I was obsessed with Batman. The year was 1988, and Tim Burton's Batman just came out in theaters. When it came on VHS, I got it for Christmas, and I watched it three times that day. I liked it so much, I just started drawing him. I studied all the minor details of his outfit, and incorporated them into my pictures. At first, he looked like an over glorified stick figure.

 I eventually graduated from drawing Batman to my shoe. Interesting transition, I know, but I got really good at drawing shoes. The shoes were always done in pencil, and in great detail.

As I progressed through school, I got an art scholarship from my art teacher in elementary school, and took classes at the art museum. In junior high, I won a poster contest for D.A.R.E. In high school, my design was chosen for the JROTC patch. I never finished school, and kind of fell away from art.

In 2001, a friend of mine gave me an art book called “The Second Slice”. This book had what is called “cheesecake” art. This style of art is basically pinup art. It gets its name from the color of the pinups skin. I was attracted to this style of art for its smooth airbrushed textures and vibrant colors. I decided to try drawing in this style, and found it very fun.

My favorite medium to use is colored pencil. The way I start a picture, is to pick a spot, and work away from that spot with a light pencil sketch. Once I have done my pre-sketch, I start drawing different layers of detail and shading until I am satisfied with the result.

In the famous words of Stan Lee, “If you want to be a good artist, you should have paper in front of you right now drawing everything you see”. I love to draw, it gives me great pleasure. I have once again hit a dry spot where I do not draw at all. I hope to muster up the courage to take pencil to paper again. When that happens, I am sure my imagination will be ready, just overflowing with different ideas to get down on paper.