Lady and the Dragon © Barbara A. Freeman
Graphite and Mixed Media on Film 3 3/8" x 5 3/8"
Each summer for the month of August, local artist Shannon Leah Danks curates a show at Meyers Cafe at the Marina in Everett. This year the theme, The Extraordinary Ordinary, is an eclectic mix featuring work inspired by the everyday, ordinary that becomes the extraordinary! The show by local artists using a variety of styles and mediums, runs the entire month of August. Meyers Cafe, a beautiful place to have lunch or brunch, is located at The Everett Marina, 1700 West Marine View Drive, Everett, WA. The Everett Marina is also the location of the Sunday Farmers' Market! Be sure to see the show during your visit! All work is for sale ... support your local artist!
My entry for the show, Lady and the Dragon, is a new graphite and mixed media drawing on film. This work is not a fine art miniature because it is not to 1/6th scale.
From the Association of Miniature Artists [AMA], "most contemporary societies have adopted a one-sixth scale guideline: Subjects should be rendered one-sixth their life-size or smaller with some leeway given to naturally small subjects (hummingbirds, butterflies and delicate flowers)."
It would be difficult indeed to draw a tiny dragonfly to 1/6th scale, let alone a ladybug! However, this work was done in the "spirit of a miniature". I consider it a "small work". Work done on film does not always scan well and with this one, the color appears lighter than it does in person. As I do with most of my drawings on film, the image is drawn on one side in graphite. I then turn the work over and use colored pencil to add color to the work on the back side. Then lastly, I return to the front side and add a bit of acrylic interference color to the wings of the dragonfly. They sparkle and glow as you view the work from different angles.
I know I have not been as current in blogging as I would like. I am still trying to catch up from all the time I had been away from home and studio. New artwork has been slow in coming, trying to find time to be in my "creative head space"! Life does have a way of taking you on detours. I think the best way to cope is to look for new opportunities in the detours and keep an open mind. I do hope to get back on track!
Next month, I am so excited to be doing a show titled, "Charmed", with Janie Olsen at Wise Designz! Details to follow in the next blog post. Hope you will come back to read all about it. Thank you for taking the time to read this and hope you get a chance to stop by Meyers Cafe and see The Extraordinary Ordinary!
