kaolin fire presents :: art

I was introduced to paint at an early age, though I've only really attempted to be serious about it in the last few years. When I was four or so, my dad took me into the driveway with some cardboard boxes and whatever paints could be dug up from where ever, and I had my hand at typically childish representational art and (relatively indistinguishable) splash/spray/drip art. He actually rounded up children around the neighborhood and we had a show at a local gallery, where I managed to sell my first piece.

I only dabbled with physical art on and off, with class projects and whatnot, though I took a summer course at the Art Institude of Chicago at some point (in 'art' and another in 'videography'), and I had a solid three years of ceramics in middle school. Unfortunately, I sucked all around, as one expects from a small child. I really want to do ceramics again, and movies, but that's going to take a fair bit more facilities (and patience) than I currently have. I finally broke down and took one drawing class in highschool. Which did nothing for my self-esteem, but did usher in an era of simple sketches, drawings, watercolors, and near-watercolors (extremely thinned-out acrylics).

Then came college and I started dating someone minoring in art, who'd been drawing and painting and whatnot for as long as I had, but was far, FAR more skilled at it (much more practice, many more classes, and a pretty damned good eye to boot). This constant barrage of art kept me entertained, and kept me trying, and I finally (lots of finallies here... I'm not as much of a "get up and go"-er as I'd like) took my first painting class. Which killed my former enthusiasm for acrylic in one LONG day (where I wound up in tears by the end), and garnered in me a new love for oil.

The class was a wonderful excuse to paint, though, and really ushered in a new renaissance for me... which trickled to a stop, as these things are wont to do. I did a painting now and then, but I'd been introduced to photoshop (and related tools), and was in love with the ability to create beautiful pictures without having to clean up my mess afterwards. I've been doing digital art on and off, whenever the odd mood strikes me. After a few years of this, I convinced myself to get a refurbished Wacom tablet to try to hone my drawing skills, but so far only one picture has come of this. ((to be fair, I lost the stylus for a little over a year, but even then... the stylus is covered by all the other junk I have on my desk)).

Lately, I've been trying to focus more strongly on the physical media again; as a confidence enhancer, I picked up an overhead projector to help me play with my doodles and photographs I've taken, trying to get an appreciation for how things really are, and conveying that onto canvas. Now, I just need to keep selling pieces off to make more wallspace and to keep me in canvas and paint, so my art can continue to grow.