I decided to compile my art in a timeline to see how it evolves.
This is a drawing I did when I was about 14.
This is another one of my earliest drawings that I still have. It was a face I drew often for some reason for about a year. I was probably about 15 when I drew this. (I drew earlier things but lost them over time. My first drawing was a portrait of Marilyn Manson)
A few years later I started drawing some anime but quickly grew bored as I felt it was too easy in comparison to trying to draw realistic pencil portraits. (which would later become an obsession with perfection the lead to a lack of creativity, emotion, and growth as an artist)
I also made this quick piece in that time period with random watercolors and markers. It was just a 10 minute doodle but I ended up really liking it for some reason.
A little while later when I was I believe about 18 I did this piece which was better than anything I had done before, in the opinion of most people which would lead me to end up hating this piece for awhile as I struggled to make something superior.
I believe I did these at around 23. I did a lot of nude women for awhile.
I created two of my most realistic pencil drawings when I was 22 and worked in a call center, thus had 8 hours at a time to focus on art. (It was mindless phone calls)
I also created this cute, colorful, colored pencil (and marker) piece:
And did a few paintings.
This would begin my obsession with realism. Frustration. A lack of actually focusing sometimes, for the hours and hours needed to achieve photo-realism. And eventually, an obsession that boxed me in and took the joy out of art.
This is not to say I didn't enjoy creating some of these. Some of the are my absolute favorites but the pursuit of realism, and lack of branching out, eventually lead me to be frustrated and uninspired. (With some of these I did branch out and stylize them but I am just going to put some of my pencil portraits from next 4 years in order to the best of my memory)
(totally messed up the hands on that one and hid them like a god damn child. haha)
In that time period I did have some fun with this piece that I somehow lost, and am still kicking myself for losing it.
and made these really awesome lips:
At this point something awesome happened and my friend Charlie invited me over for an art day and I would make my first ever sculpture and find myself, having....actual fun!
This made me realize I needed to branch out. So I decided to give painting another shot.
To my surprise even though my skill level in painting is lower than my pencil skill level, I sold a lot more art when I made paintings. I think probably because they are colorful, and can help tie a room together.
Right now I am working on digital pieces as I finally got my hands on a thinkpad with a stylus.
My first 3 digital drawings in order:
And I published a coloring book:
(I already have a blog all about the coloring book so I will just share one of my favorite pages:
So, what's the future got in store for this artist?
Not a box, I can tell you that. While I do want to do some pencil pieces I now WANT to do them and I also want to keep painting, keep sculpting, and try out woodcarving, and 3d printing, (I can 3d model somewhat from my time in college) crocheting, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I have some ideas for some abstract sculptures which the artist I was 4 years ago would have been horrified by. There are a ton of options, and I have a lot of feelings and I plan to express them in many different ways.
Thank you for taking some time out of your day to look at my art and hear my story.
Here is a link to my coloring book, unfortunately the look inside feature is broken and amazon is not fixing it but there are photos in the comments of some more pages.
And you can get a PDF copy on my etsy, or try out a single page, or look at some of my other art. :)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/lauralemonsart?ref=hdr_shop_menu
Also here is my art page on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/LauraLemonsArt/
And here is my patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2994945