Experimentation...

Since I knew I would have some relaxing time in my hotel room Sunday night, I brought some things to 'play' with. I have not developed good art-experimental-play habits in the past - always had small children in my lap or was chauffeuring them somewhere or was helping with homework or doing something silly like cleaning the house or picking the blueberries... It's just been the last couple of years that I could even think of doing something that was not commissioned and on a deadline. And even then it has mostly consisted of life drawing and sketching people in church.

When I was doing research for my Oz piece, I was introduced to the graphic novel Oz work being done by amazing comic artist Scottie Young. I bought one of his Oz sketchbooks, and enamored of his characterization and stylization, I copied some of his character sketches to get a feel for how to approach stylizing in this way. (You may have noticed, I don't stylize so much... Would love to, but my brain has not worked that way on its own.. Thus far at least...) Did much fun copying until bedtime.

The following day was the college tour, which entailed a couple of sit-down lectures. I opted to sketch through them, and decided to try my hand at a similar stylization of a character on my own. After a page of cuteness, I wanted to push for something a little more gothic (partly in honor of all the gothic architecture of UW campus). Still pretty cute, and vaguely Manga looking....

So, when we got home, I actually looked at a few photos - mostly for gesture- and to see if I could kind of meld the cuter stylization with something closer to how I normally work - but retain the looser, free-experimental feel of it... 'Twas very fun!

I hope to be able to 'play' more!

"When you create you get a little endorphin rush. Why do you think Einstein looked like that?"

Robin Williams
Comic/Actor