I used to be an avid reader. Then life got hectic. Once I start a book I have always been compelled to finish it, often in one setting so since I had little free time, I read less and less books. It has been on my heart for over a year now to direct my art focus to creating pet portraits. It seems I may have found my niche. This is a birthday present for a friend and is my first attempt at using pastel pencils. This is where I want to be. I foresee many late nights and early mornings because it was 3:15 a.m. before I finished and felt I could retire to bed. Yep, I have traded books for pencils.
Pet portrait of a very special black Lab named Belle
Reference photo of Belle
I posted these photos yesterday, just as I was rushing out the door for a very hectic day. I have been both humbled and encouraged by all the shares and positive comments. There are a lot of emotions that go into making the bold statement, ‘yes, I will do commissions’.
My dad was an excellent artist. I say was because he hasn’t created art for the sake of art since I was born. Still he is my biggest fan and my favorite critic and I often seek his advice when I am struggling with a sketch. Mom recognized my interest in art and enrolled me in Saturday art classes with Mrs. Louise Kessler. She was small in stature, with knurled, arthritic hands but she instilled in us the confidence that we could do ANYTHING. Once when I froze up at the challenge she had laid before me, she looked me square in the eye and said, “Just paint, honey. There isn’t anything you can do to that canvas that we can’t fix together.” Today when I teach my students, I try my best to share that same wisdom with them.
I have a difficult time calling myself an artist. I have always said I am a really good copy artist and a really bad original artist. Some people just see things and can paint beautiful imagery. Not me. I must have a detailed photo in front of me then I can recreate. The artistic world is all about originality so needing to copy from an image seemed to disqualify me wearing the true badge of artist. This past summer, my friend and I taught several weeks of youth art workshops. The flyer listed our names as PROFESSIONAL artists. Now, of course, my friend, Regina, IS an artist generating beautiful canvases of flowers, landscapes, abstracts and even pet portraits. But me? A professional? There it was in writing and for the first time I opened the window to consider I might just be a real artist.
One of my prized possessions is an art book, How To Draw Dogs, given to me as a gift. I used that book to create a portrait of a Collie using oil pastels. It became the first recognition I had some talent. I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised when, several years ago, after a friend posted on Facebook their pet had died, I silently saved their name and pet photo to a file. I started to think about a plan to do a small 5 x 7 sketch, attach it to a sympathy card and mail it, hoping it would comfort the ache in some small way. My file is getting pretty stuffed yet I haven’t followed through once.
I started this portrait of Belle, mainly because no matter what medium I explore, everyone seems to admire my pencil sketches the most. I carry a pencil and smudge stick in my purse because when I am stressed or fighting a headache, sketching is a distraction and a comfort. Pencils don’t meet my need for COLOR! I wondered if pastel pencils would be the tool to help me do what I do best and satisfy my color cravings at the same time. An artist’s tools can make or break his art. Researching pastel pencils I realized there was a vast range of quality and price. Regina kindly loaned me her set and they fit me well. Once the photo was posted though, people began to comment and ask about commissions. The confidence of last summer’s, ‘I am a PROFESSIONAL ARTIST’ flew out the window and self doubt bombarded my thoughts. Was I really good enough? This was, after all, my first attempt using an unfamiliar method. I will need training and that takes time, something I am having trouble managing as it is. What if I agree to a commission and I can’t get the likeness accurate or the owner doesn’t like it? How much do I charge? How long is reasonable to create a portrait?
Forty-four days into this new year and it has already been a year packed full of discoveries. I learned helping people really floats my boat. I learned that when God places a calling on your life, accept it and hang on for the ride because it is JOY unspeakable. Trust Him to order your steps. Rely on Him to make provision where there was none. Enjoy the time spent in intimate communion with the Holy Spirit. Laugh with delight when you see His hand at work in everyday activity. Follow His lead. Walk by faith not by sight. Believe in your heart and His will becomes the reality. Is it possible, He has been ordering my steps since I was a child, training my hand and eye that needs a photo to copy really well from so that I can preserve a treasured memory of these four legged companions now 47 years later? Is He setting things in motion to provide a means of income that allows me to be the artistic, creative me that finds joy in sharing art with others? If I embrace the things He is revealing to me in this new year of 2015, it would be a dishonor to cave to the flood of self doubt.
Art has always been my therapy. I think I am going to need a lot of therapy! đŸ™‚ My husband apparently doesn’t share my hesitations. He shared my post then proclaimed I would be available to do commissions long before I got home to see the post. 　 There’s no turning back now. Guess I had better go sharpen those pencils.
JOYFully, Ginny 