Pursuing Dreams

Success is focusing the full power of all you are on what you have a burning desire to achieve – Wilfered A. Peterson

The above quote by Wilfered A. Peterson accurately describes the mentality of a young girl named Melanie, who came into my life many years ago. For a young lass she had an incredible work ethic, was committed to excellence, persevered through difficulty and was determined to excel.  I was blessed to teach her privately for six years and when working with an individual on a one-to-one basis, the accumulated time together enables me to get to know and understand a person’s characteristics.  From the get go, Melanie was a focused, disciplined and an eager student.  She worked hard during her lesson as well as at home during free time. She was the type of student who always wanted to do her personal best in any given situation and embraced challenges enthusiastically which allowed her to perform remarkably.  Melanie was a perfect pupil for any teacher to experience.

With my time with Melanie, her art skills soared dramatically. And it came to no surprise when she won numerous awards locally, nationally, and internationally.

I was inspired to do this drawing with Melanie playing the violin as a tribute to her character as well as to reveal the complexities of learning a musical instrument or anything that requires skill development.  To be proficient in any skill such as drawing , playing a musical instrument or sports, it requires an investment of time, perseverance and striving for constant and never-ending improvement.

She was a real gem to teach and a very rare focused girl at her age.

For Sale

Drawing size 21.63 x 15.5" plus frame and mat

Please contact susanne@lamorearts.com

Moonlight Sonata

When photographing models, the wardrobe, the angle of light to the person’s features, and the position of the camera relative to the position of the individual are considered.   During the photo session, I will take several photos of the model to capture the right look and pose.  Moreover, the photo session with the model may take several days to get a few useable photo references.  This is what I did with my all of my models.

In the drawing entitled Moonlight Sonata, I was inspired by Rembrandt, a seventeenth century Dutch artist, who is famous for the technique employed in his art work called Chiaroscurism (strong contrast between lights and darks). Bold, strong values in a drawing give the composition a sense of drama.  I wanted to capture that drama in my drawing and found the perfect opportunity while photographing Ama.  Wanting her face, hands, and the violin to be the main focus in this drawing, Ama was dressed in black to cause the unimportant features to be lost in the shadows.  I positioned the spotlight on her and removed any secondary light source that may have conflicted with the effect.  I liked how her glasses shimmered against the darkness and how radiant she looked with the violin.

Moonlight Sonata

Pastel

20.75x15.4" + frame

For Sale

For more information please contact susanne@lamorearts.com