forumsthe post boardOnline Sketchbook and Gallery - one artist's progress over time
 
alwaysLearning (edited Mar 9, 2004)
I might as well pipe up here, and let folks know that I've been putting up some of my oekaki work, as well as my pencil sketches and other digital and/or mixed media artwork, in my combination Online Sketchbook and Art Gallery. It's nothing spectacular, especially since my scanner has trouble picking up my light hand with a pencil sketch, but you might enjoy seeing it.

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WARNING: THIS SITE CONTAINS ARTISTIC NUDITY. IF YOU ARE UNDERAGE, AND VIEWING NUDE PENCIL SKETCHES WOULD VIOLATE YOUR LOCAL LAW, OR IT IS OTHERWISE INAPPROPRIATE FOR YOU TO VIEW NUDE ARTWORK, PLEASE DO NOT VIEW THE FINE ART NUDES, MERMAIDS, MYTHICAL BEASTS, ELVES, FAIRY, OR FAERIE ARTWORK PAGES OF THIS SITE.

No other pages of this site contain nude artwork, and that which is on the site is (in my personal opinion) quite tasteful, something which I would not be embarassed to show to my grandmother or great-aunts, the minister's children. None of the pieces are any more sexual or "smutty" in nature than the Little Mermaid statue in Amsterdam's harbour, Boticelli's "Venus", or Michaelangelo's "David", but in this era, I thought it best to warn the viewer, so that each person is free to make an informed decision. The onus is on the viewer to follow local law in choosing whether to view my online artworks, or any specific page or pages. You have been warned.
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This site is designed to show my early work and practise pieces, as well as my more finished pieces and best work (including the pieces I've done professionally), in order to document my progress, since I took up drawing again after an 18-20 year lapse (in fact, some of my earliest works are on the site as well, dating back as far as the early-to-mid-1980's).

Prior to the point where I started drawing again, I did professional graphic design work as part of my freelance web design business, but, humbling experience though it is, I got tired of being unable to get many of the images in my head out into a format that let other people see them, so I've gone (if you'll pardon the pun) back to the drawing board, and set out to master the basics in terms of lineart and sketching, as well as colouring with any tool other than coloured pencils (which you can't see, because my scanner won't scan in colour properly right now).

It is my hope that this might also be encouraging to other new artists, or people returning to the arts after years away from them, because I know from experience that it can be intimidating when all you see are people's best works and final outcomes.

One of the things I like best about boards like this one (2draw) is that they let people view the progress of other artists, including new artists, over time -- and see that they didn't start out perfect, either, however good they may have become with practise.

Edit: Are there other artists out there who come at this the same way? I hope there are; there are not many artists out there who can't encourage *someone* to give art a try, because there's always someone else who isn't as good as you are. I know that *I'd* love to see some other artists' progress over time -- so I hope you'll share your own site here if you think that maybe it would help me or another artist understand more about how to improve my/our own work, and/or it might encourage someone else about where their work can go if they keep at it.
 
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