Crane: Ballpoint Pen

Here is another Ballpoint pen drawing. The image of the crane was a photograph from a National Geographic magazine. I did this one day at the Lost Bean, a local coffee and tea shop where I like to hang out. It is amazing how much texture and detail you can get from an 89 cent black pen. I have really learned a lot doing these small 4" x 6" drawings. There is no color added to this drawing, my scanner seems to have picked up some yellow tones.

Trees

This series of tree drawings were from a drawing class assignment last semester. Each one is 4" x 6" and were drawn using only a black ball point pen. No pencil lines were drawn first so no going back. It's amazing how much variety of value and what depth you can get with an ordinary black ball point pen. I really learned a lot from these drawings and plan on doing more. These were all done from photos. Some of which I took myself. I found that making a black and white xerox of the images help me see the contrast. Layering marks on top of marks, I could achieve the depth and texture I was trying to capture.

Day at the Getty

Spent Staurday at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles with some girlfriends. I took my small sketchbook and watercolors. While they took a tour I walked arould on my own and did some sketching. I added watercolor at lunch with the girls in the Villa Cafe. Then we were off to explore some more. I just did small drawings of things that caught my eye and were interesting to me. It was a beautiful day but still cold. Great group of friends, some old and some new. We talked about planning a trip to the Getty when our weather gets warmer.

Welcome to Silverwoman Studio

I believe there is an artist in all of us. Some people just haven’t discovered this yet. My artist has always been there, trying to get out in some creative way or another. Now, with two wonderful grown children, I have the time to really explore my inner artist. My main medium is printmaking, especially monoprints. The possibilities are endless and the textures and images you can achieve are different from any other medium.

I came to the art world later in my life, taking classes at the local community college and workshops wherever I could find them. I still love taking classes and workshops. Being with other artist is inspiring and sets up a great creative atmosphere. I spend some time every summer in Colorado taking workshops. I’ve tried woodturning and Mexican pottery but spend most of my time in the print shop.

I have displayed my prints in the student art shows at Santa Ana College and two of my pieces were purchased by the Santiago Canyon College Foundation. I also have a piece for Breast Cancer Awareness hanging at the Cornelia Knotts Wellness Foundation.

I have been able to set up a studio in my home where I can create and dabble in my craft to my heart’s content. It is wonderful to have that creative space. Two or three times a month I work with the residents of Kirkwood Assisted Living of Orange and help them make beautiful monoprints. They are a joy to work with and a wonderful addition to my life. At this stage of my life I’m so happy to say along with my other accomplishment that I am an artist.