The moment I realized I am an artist: Michael Markwick

Michael Markwick is an artist originally from Michigan and now resides in Germany. His work reflects his childhood growing up in the Midwest. He recently came to Lyon college and critiqued our work. He gave us feedback and guidance in our artwork. One evening, he spoke at an artist talk. He was showing slides of his pieces and explained what they meant to him. My family is also from Michigan and as he was sharing his experience I had similar memories. Something inside my heart clicked with my brain and in that very moment, I realized that I too am an artist. A single tear flowed down my cheek. I realized why I was born. I was born to create, imagine, and believe. I'm so grateful that I was there that night, I could have missed the aligning of stars. 

Chris and Jenni

Here is a painting that I did to depict the relationship I have with my brother. The picture I used was when we were at a Monday night football game in St. Louis. It was the rams vs the Seahawks. We somehow got field passes (for those of you who don't know what that means- you can't buy them- they're given to people.. Out of about 50,000 people only about 500 to 1,000 people get them and they get to watch the teams warm up and get to be a foot away from the players and newscasters) this picture was taken after the game started when we had already taken out seats. I used blues and greens for our faces to show peace. We constantly work on ourselves as individuals in achieving peace. I wanted to show our growth in our relationship such as honesty, acceptance, and freedom to be ourselves with green and blue. For the background I used a pale red-orange to signify the past we come from. Sometimes it still burns us, but we find a way to use the fire to build a stronger bond through honesty and forgiveness. It takes a lot of self reflection and personal power power to be able to be in a healthy relationship with the ones we love. I love my brother and he's one of my strongest relationships I have in my life. I couldn't see my life without him. He has taught me so much that I don't mind the fire at all- it keeps us warm.. 

A real superhero

Superheroes come In various forms. My favorite hero is a woman of 78 years. Her name is Shirley Snell. She is my grandmother.

My grandmother is Native American (confederated tribes of grand ronde- northwest pacific- where I grew up), grew up in Flint, MI, and retired as a nurse. Her first husband was murdered while he was trying to save a girl from being gang raped- the girl did get away but he was beat to death. Shirley was pregnant with her first child- my aunt Jamie. After Jamie was born, Shirley ran into a mother of one of the guys that had killed her husband and she had told my grandmother that she was so sorry for what had happened. Shirley replied, "I love my baby so much that I have no room for hate in my heart." 

This is just one of the amazing lessons of love and forgiveness my grandmother has taught me. She worked as a nurse in a teen mother ward in the 1980's in San Antonio, TX. She quickly gained respect as she couldn't see the difference between skin color because she only saw the color of one's blood- it's all the same. 

There are countless stories my grandmother has shared with me of faith, courage, strength, love, and power. 

She is a caring mother, a loving grandmother, and a proud great grandmother. She prays every night for the ones she loves of protection, guidance, and care. 

She has a close relationship with the spirit of love and I am honored she has passed the wisdom of life down to me and for that I am forever grateful to be a part of this wonderful woman's family tree. Thank you Shirley Mae Snell. 

The queen of Nail Art: Robin Moses

Robin Moses is an artist who uses the tiny finger nail as her grand canvas. She is in-freakin-credible! She has the ability to paint flowers to van goghs onto finger nails. She has many tutorials online and on YouTube.com. Whether you want to learn how to be your own nail master or you just want your mind to be blown, I highly recommend you check her out.. 

The art of the braid

Art comes in many forms and these pictures of these braids can show just that. The beautiful lines and flow of these braids are overwhelmingly gorgeous  from casual to formal wear of braids. The last braid is in the form of a helicopter and the blades actually move! 

Dirk Dzimirsky

I want to capture and describe a persons precence and specific inner self. Similar to what a detailed writer might employ in their analysis of an individual, I portray not only the physical attributes, but more importantly the subjects inner presence of life. It's not too obvious as my work appears most detailed, but I understand my approach as both representational and lyrical, using marks like words and textured areas like paragraphs. All parts of a whole, telling a story about a human being.

I choose drawing over painting as this allows me to create many layers over layers of lines and dots which react to each other in order to create a vibrant texture with directions and movement. This approach enables the finished work to be viewed more by the "senses" as opposed to the standard visual observation of a photo. Personally, I view the practice of drawing as reminiscent of scratching on a surface to observe what's hidden underneath, where as the nature of painting projects more the inverse, covering and hiding details and forms that might have contributed to a sensuality of a work.

I work in a style that most people refer to as photorealism or hyperrealism. I use photos as references for my hyperrealistic drawings and paintings but I am not after a perfect reproduction at all. I use a photo very loosely once the proportions are established. I usually work as if I were drawing from a live model actually. I work with movement and expression, working fast on larger, more unimportant areas, and slowing down on parts that need more attention. I am actually improvising a lot. My main concern is to capture the essence and substance of forms in order to get close to a perceptible presence of the subject.

- See more at: http://www.dzimirsky.com/artist-statement.html#sthash.3iYFxfqi.dpuf

Minjae Lee

In Minjae Lee's own words: "I have loved color since I was 7 year old. Not many people accepted me using colors this way, including a few teachers.. so. I’ve always drawn by myself. One day, I found markers, and loved them because of the vivid colors they produce. So I always use markers now.

I find inspiration in human face. and abstract movement and COLOR! When I draw people, it’s on the spur of the moment, very spontaneous. I’m always experimenting with new materials, and ways to do things. 

"Minjae Lee is a young South Korean artist whose work is filled with powerful colors, aggressive scenes and a clever blend of  beauty, innocence and fragility.

At just 22 years old, he’s a self-taught artist, that uses old-fashioned tools, such as markers, pens, crayons, acrylics, to create his illustrations. His dramatic works are all about pattern and texture that just add more authenticity to his illustrations. You can check out more of his fantastic works on his DeviantArt profile."-art boom.com

What I love about Lee's work is that it looks like a quilt- as I found his work I thought it was paint and collage and then I was astonished that he hand paints each intricate pattern. Wow! This guy is talented. Look him up on Facebook too!