“The Spirit of the Garden”

“One Last Game” - Ink & alcohol markers on paper (9"x12”)

A woman walks along the fence line. Her fingertips lightly grazing the spider plants as she hums a gentle song… She takes a deep breath and exhales forcefully. As she blows, the garden comes to life! The plants begin to shimmer, dance, and groove as radiant light shines ever so brightly on their longing stalks. The spindly dragonfruit reaching on further into the Sun. The spirit of the garden is alive.

I began this drawing, as I do with most, with a black fineliner. Having no real concept initially, I first began to draw a woman’s face. As I drew, I started to think about the garden surrounding me. I envisioned what it would be like if the garden had a spirit. What would this woman look like? How would she act? Questions like these give life to your artwork and make it feel like there is more to it than just a few attractive lines on a sheet of paper. Sometimes, when I need inspiration, all it really takes is a change of scenery. Making art is like a psychedelic adventure - set & setting.

When I draw an image that is intended to be mirrored digitally, I have to think about how every single line, shape, or color will interact with it’s symmetrical counterpart ahead of time, If you don’t plan this out accordingly, the picture will not look right in the end. The hardest thing to accomplish with this technique was drawing faces that not only look proportional, but pleasant. Sometimes the shape of face turns out to be less than desirable, or just downright scary looking, but it’s all just a matter of practice. You can’t really get better at anything without practicing and no matter how long you practice, there is always room for improvement.