Showing Another Side of My Creative Mind...

Today I was in one of my moods regarding creativity and decided to share another side of myself.  As many of you know,  I not only write, but I'm also an artist who specializes in soft pastels and charcoal.  I know I've shown some of my book covers, but today I felt like sharing some of the other works I've come up with over the years.

This first piece is a soft pastel which was inspired by a song by Nina Gordon, "Tonight and the rest of my Life".  Her we have an angelic figure who holds a universe in her arms and behind her you can make out large fingers which in turn cradle her.

This piece was coming along beautifully until it came time to do the face.  I couldn't find the right one to use, or get the angles right.  Then my wife stepped in and posed her head just right, and from then on the painting seemed to come alive.  It held even more meaning than before to me as I retouched areas and strove to finish it with great love and affection, for now it showed how much she means to me and how she holds MY universe in her arms, forever and always.


This next piece was inspired by Holts' "The Planets Suite".  Many of us has heard the "Mars, Bringer of War" with its powerful ominous tones, but there are a number of other songs on the album that brings the almost all the planets of our solar system into new and even playful ideas.  Having played violin in school for a number of years (no I did not ever play Holts' music unfortunately) I often found myself drawn into the music as it filled my head with all sorts of wondrous images.  So in this piece I tried to capture those moments and feelings in my work.  I like to think I succeeded.


Mind you, I do not specialize simply in cosmic inspired artwork.  I'm one of those artists who simply paints whatever catches their fancy.  Take this Pink Iris for instance.  This lovely blossom was growing in our backyard one year and I was totally captivated by how the sun was catching it in just the right way that it seemed to glow.  I immediately set up my easel outside and pulled out my pastels and went to work.  In one hour I was done.  This is probably one of the fastest pieces I've ever created, and I was very pleased with the results.


Finally, I wanted to share one of my charcoal pieces.  This Spotted Owl, I created from looking at various photos of owls and I came up with this fine, slightly scowling, fellow.  While by no means my best charcoal piece, it gives you an idea of some of the effects I've been able to achieve in that medium.  I was particularly proud of the feathering effects I was able to capture in this piece.


So what does all this have to do with writing?  Sometimes an image can give birth to a story, and vice versa.  Both inspiration and creativity can take so many forms and need to be expressed in different ways.  In my case, I've been able to blend the two into my books and enjoy every minute of it, even during the more 'difficult' times.  They can be a struggle, but they usually lead to some fine results one can be proud of.

If anyone would like to see more of my artwork, you can go to this link at Fine Art America, where prints, pillows, duvets, towels, and so many other items can be purchased with the images beautifully imprinted on them:


I'll be sharing more images here as I get better quality photos, as well as continuing my posts about my adventures in writing.  I must say even after being an Indie Author for 3 years now, I'm still on a learning curve.  Is that true for others as well?  Let us know by leaving your thoughts in the comment section below.

Thanks again for tuning.  Until next time, take care and keep writing.








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