The Mermaid - Art Process

The Spirit's Notes: This artwork was completed in August, 1999. As an artist, I can draw art from my imagination as well as drawing from models and modeled reference. Usually if I want a more realistic feel to my art, I will draw from life or modeled poses. If I seek a more fantastic, cartoonish or wild effect, I will simply use my imagination, as this artwork, The Mermaid demonstrates. Then, there are instances when I incorporate both modes of creation, referencing a photo for detail and accuracy and the incorporation of my vivid imagination (and both to varying degrees). Particularly with my earlier work, my imagination played a huge part in rendering the female figure. But as detail drives my work, I found it inevitable to seek out models for my poses. That is my evolution. There are instances when I deliberately seek to render a model's likeness into my art, as her likeness becomes a vital component to the drawing itself for various conceptual reasons (if a model has natural radiant beauty which inspires me, then I will seek to convey it through my art to compliment, interact, and enhance the concept or composition). Life/Figure Drawing had always been one of my major focuses from late-high school all the way through my years at Art College. Yet Fine Art Life Drawing is a vastly different style of art from the field of Erotic Art Figure Drawing, though many similar process skills and techniques may be used in both. So my own experience in the former, made the transition easier for me when I decided to focus on the latter. The lesson with this is that any previous instruction or experience you may have at drawing makes the next piece(s) that you work on a little bit wiser, for you are bringing in your past arsenal of experience and knowledge with you.