marisekr

Hello everyone. I have a background in Japanese language and Asian History. I have been drawing for 25 yrs since I completed "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" under the guidance of a teacher colleague who was sure that anyone could learn to draw and draw realistically in a satisfying and appealing way. I have loved drawing flowers using this methodology - graphite, watercolour pencils. These recent years I have joined a local group who draw mostly in graphite from photographs; my subjects are largely portraits although birds and flowers also feature. I have been working on expanding my skills in a range of media largely under the auspices of Matt Fussell aka The Virtual Instructor. I did join classes in a local studio, but found the after hours time slot less productive than I wanted it to be.I travel a good deal and find myself drawn to the decoratives motifs16th and 17th century France and Art Nouveau. My background in Japanese studies has fostered an appreciation for the understated beauty of their traditional approach to visual arts and I have been following Johnathan Jay Lee of Jayart.com for 18 months as I admire his style with watercolour. So here I am hoping to develop a more decorative and illustrative style that might lead to my work being used on accessories and fabrics.