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- Getting Inspired, once again -
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Tuesday, July 20, 2004
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This summer, apart from frying into an unrecognizible mass on the sidewalks of Sacramento, I've been discovering things about myself - about myself as an artist.
In the last year I've incorporated the majority of my artwork into computer graphics, websites, and other visual media that I enjoy. The astondment started when I realized when was the last time I picked up a pen, a pastel pencil, and made a 'hardcore' piece of art? Will I be hence forth known as the artist that use to draw?
It was funny, at the Passage to Paradise banquet we met a lot of new friends of Kimo and Jan (some which were blown away to hear our Apolo/short track adventures). Kimo would introduce me always as, "...this is 'The Artist' "
The Artist, formally known as April.
Yeah, Prince I am not - it made me laugh.
I ran across the Livejournal of a friend I met a while back (I've had my LJ since 2000), and she's a great artist. She has an incredibly unique style, the best way to describe being it's somewhere between reality and fantasy. I just haven't made the time to produce more pieces, and it's definitely been a sore spot. Making the Apolo Art Book back in Feb 2003 marked the last time-comsuming pieces I put out. And as much as I know I wanted Apolo to have that book, I miss those pieces. Your art is like your children, in a weird way. I've said many times that I work best under inspiration and, oddly enough, pressure. I never go into an art piece with full confidence and ease; maybe it reflects on my self-perspective. It's the way, the sick formula that drives me into the finished product.
As of late, I've had neither inspiration nor pressure, which explains the dry spell. My pressures are now tied into work, my business, getting an apartment, the list is too long. Regarding inspiration, well, the mix of being preoccupied and not taking - not making time - to do my art kills inspiration. But, I'm learning to not shut out the things I love, even if they're not high on my 'to-do' list of the moment. My artwork seems to give me a tanglible happiness despite what's going on around me.
I'm slowly working my way back to large pieces again, but last night I spoted a picture of Apolo in my jumble of papers on my computer desk. It was a shot that the beloved Jennie had taken at Nationals in Cleveland. This girl has a great eye for 'moments', not just good shots. Anyone with a nice camera can take a good shot, but where the rubber meets the road (or where the shudder meets the spring, in this case) is capturing a mood, a feeling, a moment in time. That's the difference between those that see a good shot and say, "Wow, that's a excellent picture!", and those that say nothing, but look in awe. That's the sign, because if the mood, the feeling of the picture hits you when you look at it, there's really nothing to say but to soak it up for a bit. This picture of Apolo says so much - his quiet dominance, his soft-spoken, matter-of-fact demeanor, he looks submissive, yet completely in control.
*and, it goes without saying that he manages to look SO hot in spite of all that*
I saw this picture, realized I had pastel graphic art paper the exact color of the sponsor fleeces the team wears, and wouldn't you know it - inspiration. It was late, I didn't have much time, and I actually couldn't find the rest of my pastel pencils I had hidden from myself! I thought, eh, it's ok, I don't have to finish it, no rush. Funny thing is, an unfinished art piece sat in front of me and was strangely complete. There's a term in the art world known as Impressionism - where the subjects of the art are true, yet just an impression of the given subject shown in an unconventional way. Luckily, Apolo's little nuances and distingushing elements are very memorable, and it's easy to tell who it is.
So, I'm happy with it...and on the road to inspiration, it serves it's purpose.
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Name: April
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