"Azalea Heaven" (pen and wash; 10" x 8")

"Azalea Heaven"

My family had a health scare recently.  My husband has been sick for a while and was hospitalized for three days.  He is now on the mend and recuperating at home while trying to catch up with his work.  My quiet life was turned upside down briefly, leaving me with little time or energy to make art.

But who am I without art?  I draw/paint, therefore I am.  I sketched in the hospital room, during my daughter's flute lesson, and at night at home, which calmed my nerves.  I believe in the healing power of art!

"Red Sailboat" (pen and wash; 8" x 5")

"Peter's Sickbed" (pen; 5 1/2" x 7")

"Two Sabrinas" (pen; 5 1/2" x 7")

"Lavender Fields of Provence" (pen and wash; 10" x 8")

"Dangers of the Sun Block" (comic strip; marker)

"I don't know where you are going with this," my husband said about my cartooning adventure.  I don't intend to become a cartoonist.  The field seems already crowded enough.  It's about thinking outside of the box, as the popular saying goes.  My "box" has always been drawing what I see as best as I possibly can.  Drawing from imagination, out of my head, was impossible, not alone desirable. 

As I become older (past 50, gulp!), I find myself less and less adventurous.  In my 20's, I used to be absolutely fearless, perhaps too fearless.  Now it's becoming harder to try new things.  The comfort zone is so well-defined, the calculating mind always busily figuring out what's doable without much risk to my self-esteem and public reputation.

So I decided to do something about it by taking a cartooning class.  I was in a mild state of shock when I first found myself surrounded by a bunch of kids (mostly boys), aged between eight and thirteen.  The teacher, Dana Yang, at The Art League School, is young enough to be my daughter.

The two-page comic strip I am sharing today is the most ambitious project I have ever done.  I even colored them with markers.  The T-Rex motif came from my recent discovery of James Gurney's Dinotopia series.  By the way, this amazing illustrator/writer is also a terrific fine artist.  Check out his latest book--Color and Light--as well as his blog, which is rated one of the top ten art blogs in the world.  I had a hard time getting some of the T-Rex poses right.  I can't get over the mind block of thinking as a realist painter, worrying about the anatomy.  Your getting a small laugh out of my first serious attempt at cartooning is my sincere hope.

Have a great Memorial Day!