Who Am I
About Lindsay:
For most of my life, I loved drawing but never realized I had any “true” artistic talents. I spent all of my professional life in the Finance world, never imagining I had a hidden passion for creating true art.
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On New Year’s Day of 2015, I was inspired to invest time on the things I had always set aside. My first attempt at this was to really commit to practicing and experimenting with pencil drawing. This was the beginning of all the fun.
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I do not have any formal art training but only the purest desire to connect within and express this through my art. I started practicing from photographs as my frame of reference as a form of self-entertainment. The response from friends and family members who spurred the encouragement to do larger and detailed pieces was overwhelming.
Thereafter, I received a proposal for my first request from a friend, to memorialize her deceased pet. I was apprehensive at first because all of my previous work was only for personal pleasure. When the piece was completed, I was amazed by how the owner reacted with such appreciation and joy. This was a defining moment for me and it made me realize I had the ability to memorialize some of the most precious moments in someone’s life. I embraced my desire for portrait art and began working on commissioned pieces.
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I want my art to be inspirational, purposeful, to tell a story and at times depict special moments in lives. I live through my art pieces and aspire to invoke those authentic feelings by virtue of my portrait artworks.
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1. How long does it take you to do a portrait drawing from a picture?The length of time depends on the size of the drawing, and on the degree of difficulty of the subject. I don't like to dwell on a drawing for long, so if I start it, I want to finish it in the shortest possible time. For instance, a single portrait of size of 8" x 10" with white background takes me about 8-12 hours, which I often divide over 3-4 evenings or a weekend.
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2. How long have you been drawing?I started drawing in 2015. I guess, life took me on a different path until then and I had other priorities. I did experiment a bit with acrylic painting a few years back, but I wasn't very good at it and I didn't feel the drive to improve and continue on that path. When I started pencil drawing, I realized that this was where my true passion lied.
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3. Did you take any drawing classes?I have never had any formal training, but my current skills were developed through self-guided learning, using books, videos and inflormal online courses.
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4. Do you also draw from live models?At present time, I do not draw from live models. To get to the desired level of realistic detail that I like to achieve in my portraits, it would be very time consuming for both myself and the posing model. I prefer to draw from a picture, and then I can take my time to capture all the fine lines and the facial expression of the subject as realistically as possible.
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5. What is it that attracts you to pencil drawing?Unlike when I use a brush, I have total control over my pencil, which feels like an extension of my finger(s). I can do very detailed work with a pencil, and it feels more intimate and rewarding.
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6. Do you also draw in color?I did a few drawings with colored pencils, and I discovered that I had even more to learn in that field. Drawing with colored pencils require different techniques. The hardest part is blending the colors, which can only be achieved by layering colors on top of one another. But if you do get the color right, it's quite the fun.
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7. Do you consider yourself an artist?Yes, I do. I have always been an artist at heart, even when I did not practice any artistic activity. I am continuously improving, and I still have a long way to go before I get to my desired level, but I am proud of what I have accomplished to date.