I normally don't go dark for so long a period, but I have been working on a lot of other projects that took a lot of time and energy. With the start of a new year (2017), it's time to get back in the swing of things and start writing.
I have been working feverishly on a new ZAZZLE store to promote my artwork. I have been an artist my whole life. It is one of my many passions. But, in this case, I have switched the paint brush and the charcoal pencil for a WACOM tablet and a stylus. The work I have been doing is computer generated using a photograph as a reference. For example, here is a portrait of my wife, Mary Rose.
I have been making paintings of songbirds, birds of prey, wading birds, lighthouses, seascapes, and more.
Since I have been an artist my whole life, I have always drawn the things that interest me. That included classic horror characters, like Dracula, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein. I made charcoal sketches of musical performers, presidents, and military aircraft. I sketched wildlife, and fantasy art. I've painted scenes of Americana in watercolor or drawn them with pen and ink.
One of my other artistic pursuits is photography. I have shot professionally for years. As a writer, I have found that providing my own photos makes it much easier to get published. It's a sort of one-stop-shopping experience for a publisher when a writer can produce a good article and excellent photographs or illustrations along with their copy.
The painting on the right was made using one of my original photographs as a reference. I have a great photographic image and a really wonderful painting with exquisite detail and texture. The former is stored on my computer and backup system while the latter is printed and in my portfolio.
The difference between an artist and an average person is the way they see. An artist sees the world as a smorgasbord of compositions. It can be a landscape, a seascape, or a lantern hanging on a wall. It can be large, small, or way beyond macro. An interesting image is really a two-dimensional design. In the case of a photograph, we are seeing the world through a lens. We capture light in a box and turn it into a picture, whether printed or uploaded to the world-wide web.
With a great painting, light helps create a mood. It makes something look realistic, or three-dimensional. It adds drama to a painting. It adds contrast and value. In the end, my goal has always been to mimic real-world things.
I took my portfolio to the Columbus College of Art and Design in the late 1970s and they told me that I was not an artist, I was an illustrator. My response: "Yeah, that's what they said about Norman Rockwell." If you don't know, Rockwell made more covers of the old Saturday Evening Post than anyone in the business. Rockwell's "America" captured the hearts and minds of people across this great country.
In the end, art is a way to share what we see and how we see it with others. It is a way to celebrate life. Art is passion. Art tells a story. Art is about the heart and soul of the observer, not just the artist. And that is what makes it so important that we teach young people to appreciate it and to eventually carry the torch when the current crop of artists is gone.
Here is a link to my ZAZZLE store...
http://www.zazzle.com/mickeymaguireart
