An ocean of color for your eyes: Sketched in graphite, drawn/painted with watercolor pencils.
All artwork is Copyright 2010 Artist Jane Bush | Touched By Fire | Artist Jane Bush.com. Stealing, reproduction, or reposting anywhere on the web is strictly prohibited and illegal. If you are interested in a print of my work, please visit my portfolio on redbubble.com
It’s been a while since I’ve completed a full illustration. As an artist, lots of ideas come to mind, and the trick is knowing which ones are worth executing. As artists, when a creative block hits us, it’s called a creative block for a reason: You cannot force the creation to fruition, and you have the choice to walk away and allow time to empty your head and come back to your craft, or simply move on with other projects until the creative inspiration comes back with the piece you’re stuck on.
As the great Tori Amos once said, “My songs are already there, I’m just the messenger for them.” I’m sure it sounds intangible and crazy to the non artistic individual. I’m sure many artists whether they be musicians, illustrators, photographers, painters, or whatever they do, can identify with this statement. Your creations have already been planted in your soul and in your head, it’s just a matter of channeling them with your talent. Your truest art always has some statement to make, and you’re the vessel for it to show the world. I started this piece last year, and “The Color Muse” was the first and only title that fit. She was there within hours of sketching on my bristol board. She wanted to come through, but I wasn’t sure what it was she wanted to be.
I wanted to experiment for the first time with something different: watercolor pencils. I am by no means a watercolor artist, but I highly respect the skill it takes now having dabbled in it. I felt as the months went on and the place she was at (see the third photo below) she had something very elaborate to say. I realized as I finally picked up my pencils and paintbrushes that it wasn’t a message of emotion so much as it was an intellectual statement. She represents the childlike, creative curiosity in all of us as artists to see if our ideas will work. She represents hope of creating something beautiful and different. She became what I was feeling as an artist at this point in my life. She wants to make many grandiose, beautiful works of art that speaks for themselves. She is proud, and she is sexy. She is what she is. She’s a mermaid, a muse, and is channel of things to come. I had to cross her bridge and create her in order to move on as artist.
“The Color Muse” will be available as a greeting card, canvas print, photo print, and more as soon as it is uploaded to my portfolio on redbubble.com.
Here below: The evolution of “The Color Muse”. Each time a new piece is fully created and I post here, you’ll be able to see each piece of artwork in stages. I apologize for the first two are awful photographs (my scanner was not working on the time).
"The Color Muse" Raw sketch (Summer 2009) Copyright 2010 Artist Jane Bush
The beginning stages of "The Color Muse". Experimenting for the first time with watercolor pencils. Sketched in graphite.
"The Color Muse": The point at which she sat in this state for months as my creative block hit. (Fall/Winter 2009)
"The Color Muse" Final Piece | Work is Copyright 2010 by Artist Jane Bush
For some reason, I’ve never been a fan of negatives/inverted photos or art, but I saw what she looked like this way, I almost like her more in negative.
"The Color Muse" "The Color Muse" Final Piece in Negative | Work is Copyright 2010 by Artist Jane Bush
