The Artist and the Style...
Based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Canada, I work within a small home studio space producing images in a traditional style with coloured pencil and graphite, on various weights of both drawing and watercolour papers.
Utilizing various accompanying tools and the old school method of drawing, I find a certain artistic peacefulness at the drawing table.
My traditional style simply comes from my old school influences, and combined background in graphic arts and fine art. For me, it describes the act of creating with one's own hands along with the individual tools and materials that we choose. I work with various types of coloured pencil, graphite pencil, easers, stomps and other tools like sponges, placing colour and working it like paint in some cases. Layering and removing becomes that dance that creates the desired effect. No two pieces are ever alike and the evolution of manual techniques always continues. Discovering new ways to achieve a certain outcome is an exciting journey.
I've always been an admirer of craftsmanship of any kind. The ability and desire to create something with one's own hands and a few chosen tools is something I have always valued.
It brings a very personal feel to each piece knowing that someone physically created it with a deep desire to pull out their particular creative skill and vision.
Drawing to me, is more than just sketching something on the page. It involves hours of being very close to the image and forming its story through each colour and pencil line placed. It seals it in time on paper.
So many pieces of artwork exist today and they all tell a story about that moment in time, when the artist put hand to material to open up a portal, a window if you like to a new image that inspired them. It's a process from first thought, to completed piece that draws the artist in. When you come to the point where an image shows itself, the excitement of that finished piece takes over. It is energizing and you spend valuable time with a piece while you're creating it. It becomes a part of you as you go to it each day and build upon its fruition. The act of creating is innate within every artist.
In a fast paced world of AI and technology, I endeavor to hold onto a style from which I find a warmth of tradition within.
Simply put: Human hand, inspiration...ART.
- Cheryl
