He has filled them with skill to do all the work of a gem cutter; a designer; an embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen; and a weaver. They can do every kind of craft and artistic designs.
Exodus 35:35
Here is my story…
As a little girl, I wanted to be a beautician for reasons like how much I loved playing with hair, watching my mom apply her make-up (and trying to apply some to myself while she wasn’t looking), but mostly as I watched a person transform into beauty. Making things look beautiful was the high point of my play time. And as amusing as it might be for a girl trying to look beautiful in an over sized dress with large hats and shoes that she can barely walk in, the interest of beauty transferred over into my creativity.
My early drawings greatly consisted of people, and mostly of those who were close to me such as my family. But sometimes I would make up people whom I wished to meet. And then there were my models – first I would draw a face and then take a marker and act as if I were applying cosmetics. While I thought they all looked stunning, the bright red lipsticks and blue eye shadow was certainly something to giggle at.
_____Amidst sewing classes, piano lessons, along with several other hobbies such as writing, cooking and baking, reading (and believe me, I gave up on any kind of sports a long time ago as those are talents that I lack every gene of, although they are wonderful fun every now and again) there was a time I discovered that while I was good at things I was never great.
_____As a little more time passed, my family got wind of an art class held by an artist at her home when we lived in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. Being the little artist of the family, my parents signed me up (along with my brother whom also showed interest in drawing). This class opened me up to many mediums such as acrylic painting, pastel, and charcoal. The teacher even saw that there was an ounce of hope for me and mentioned to my parents that I would do well in the advanced art class, which for a new teenager was a very exciting proposal. But when I finally felt myself truly moving forward with something I greatly enjoyed, my dad was transferred to Virginia.
_____Two other artists taught me in the state of Virginia. They both helped me to see, understand, and know. Soon after I found myself restless in the classroom and started producing more diligent work in my bedroom which soon became my studio. I started to see more and more. The idea of seeing became an even clearer understanding to me. That is when I realized I wanted to be a realism artists. But I was fond mostly of people and was doing portraits for customers. Yet this idea in and of itself was nice, but not satisfying. Even though my mind was set on being the best portraitist ever, that was not how I wanted to spend the rest of my life, painting portraits. Recreating what is already present and finding a meaning or purpose for myself. This is a struggle that I have dealt with up until this past year of 2010.
John and Grace
At that point, my husband, John Pennington, sat down with me at our little apartment in Fairfax, Virginia, and started asking me questions. What was I like as a girl? What did a enjoy doing? What were my interests? How did I spend my free time? Through that long talk, it clicked.
_____I realized that descriptive illustrations, by artists who drew the scenes of books (some being of places that never existed yet felt real enough to touch), excited me more than portraits of people. Those were the moments when I knew I should pursue illustration and fantasy. Because writing, reading, illustrations, make believe, fantasy, things I carried from childhood combined with my love for creating, drawing, and painting would make colorful and beautiful illustrations that everyone can enjoy.
God has created my path and been by my side with every direction I’ve taken in life. I now practice and pursue the artist I want to be and the art I want to create, but still far from being where I truly would want to be in the line of illustration (while still being closer to a portraitist), but am excited about the new challenges that I’ll face. In fact, one of the biggest challenges I gave myself is to write a youth adventure trilogy and illustrate it myself. That is my hope and what I aspire to do.