Art from the Past

Since I have been very busy at the art museum and helping out with the school auction prep, I have not made any new artwork lately. So, I will show you something from the past. Below is a picture I did in college. It must have been my sophomore year since the date is 1988.

Here's the story behind this particular picture. My husband, Frank, and I went to the same high school. It was a very big high school. We did not run into each other much throughout our high school years. We did have one math class together. Anyway, we started dating toward the end of our senior year. We both had already decided where we would be attending college. I was going to Hope College in Holland, Michigan. He was going to University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. We did do the long distance relationship thing (and as you can tell, it does work out sometimes!).

One time I went to visit Frank in Vermont. He had arranged a surprise for me. One evening we went down to the lake. He had paid a couple to sail us around on their fairly large boat for an hour or two. The weather was beautiful and it was nice.

Being a college student, funds were usually limited. I wanted to get Frank a special Christmas present but didn't have a lot of money. I decided to draw him a picture using a photo I had taken while on our boat trip as the inspiration. Below is the picture. I did have to come up with some money to get it framed. I think he liked it and it did hang in his dorm room for some time.


I don't think it has hung on our walls since we have been married and living in houses. It was put away. I pulled it out not too long ago and the glass was broken. I have since unframed it and cut the glass into smaller pieces to use for monoprints. I think it will go back in the closet again. The style is so different from what I do now.

My concentration for my art degree was in drawing. I had done realistic, detailed drawings which corresponded with my perfectionistic personality. Working with fabric, I have moved away from that. (I hope I have moved away from my perfectionistic tendencies, too.) If I do have objects in my work, they are abstracted. I haven't done many detailed drawings in a long time. I probably should, to keep in practice, but most of the drawings I do now are sketches in my sketchbook.

I think I am still searching for my own personal style in my artwork. I'm feel that I am getting closer, but not there yet.