My Very First Muse

One of my very first subjects for portrait sketching was Billy Holiday.  I felt an instant connection with her at a very young age.  I was obsessed with her music, her beauty,  and her tragic story.  I felt like I was her in one of my past lives.  I identified with her story and her pain.  I wrote poems for her...I felt like we were connected through space and time. 

In this first sketch, you can see that I was not so talented in the shading area but what I can I say? I was very young and my sketching powers were not yet quite developed.  However, I can still feel why I was so inclined to draw this photo of Billy.

Billy Holiday (Sketch 1995)

In this second drawing, I was very much intrigued by the level of detail to which I had to pay much attention.  These are the types of portrait sketching that moved me...those with high detail.

Billy Holiday (Sketch 1995)

I really can't remember which sketch came first but I did them both within the same year, at the age of 15 under the tutelage of a great artist, Mrs. Dodys, my junior high school teacher.  She made me see that art was something bigger than me and that what I was doing meant something.  She was one of the many teachers that nurtured and molded me into who I am today.  She encouraged me and made me see that this was not just a hobby. 

I would be no one without art. Pin It Now!

My first stab at painting....

So I have given you a peek into my favorite sketch that I did when I was 16, I also gave you a peek at my first tattoo design when I was about 24.  Now I am going to give you a peek into my first stab at seriously painting. 

I first dabbled in painting when I was about 13, I think....I remembered that I did not like it as much as I thought I would. Ha Ha Ha Ha....I could not figure out why I was not connecting with my paintbrush so I never tried it again unless my art teacher, Mrs Dodys, told me I had to for a grade ;-)

Last year a friend of mine invited me to one of those BYOB painting classes.  There I met another fellow artist, Rebecca Coates. Shout out to Rebecca! ;-)
She promised me that I would love painting and what do you know....I fell in love and now I can't stop.  So this first piece I did is a sunset on a lake with trees....that sort of thing.

Acrylic painting 2012

Not exactly a masterpiece but I really fell for painting at this time and found myself signing up for those classes every chance I got until.....once day I decided, "Can't I just do this on my own in my home???" 
And so now, I do. ;-) Pin It Now!

My very first tattoo design

I got my first tattoo around 2004.  I decided to get some body art done a few years before that but I only wanted artwork of my own on my body.  This first piece took years to design and to decide upon.  I was inspired by the nomadic lifestyle I have, henna artwork a lovely Indian woman betstowed upon me while soul searching in Germany and finally love...

my first tattoo and design

This tattoo was done by a guy name Joe at Sacred Heart Tattoo in Lil 5 in Atlanta, GA.  He is no longer with the shop but I still stop in from time to time to get some work done.  I am looking for a budding tattoo artist to work with as I begin my tattoo design endeavors. Pin It Now!

My First Love...ART

Welcome to my artspace! :)

It's hard to say when it first happened. 
The first time I realized I could create something so beautiful (in my eyes at least) with just a pencil and paper...
I definitely know that I was very young and in elementary school when I first started my obsession with doodling.  I remember the calm and peace I would feel as I was sketching.  I remember the endless notebooks of drawings, the pictures taped to my bedroom wall, I remember it all.  It made me so happy and took me to another place just as if I was reading a book.  I was in love and his name was Art. ;-)

Thank you so much for taking the time to follow my progression and read my tales of art-ploration.

The first piece which I used in the background of this lovely blogspot....is one of my favorite pieces that I have done.  I knew it was special before I even picked up the pencil.



Dallas Austin (sketch 1996)

I was 16 years old at the time.  I remember working on this sketch in study hall in high school.  For those who don't know who Dallas Austin is -I shall explain.  Way back in the day when I was a little artist in training, I was really into this group called Another Bad Creation (ABC).  Dallas Austin was the record producer/songwriter behind this group at the time and then I remember him being heavily associated with TLC, another favorite group of mine.  I saw this photo in a magazine and I thought, "That would be a hot drawing" and so I drew....
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