Interview with artist Bobbie Berendson W.
Describe the process of creation for this picture; how much time, effort, and discipline did it take you to pen your imagination into reality?
This one took about 24 hours, most of that spent on the sketch honestly. Laying out all those books took forever! So did getting her expression just right, she needed to be worried and sorrowful at the same time. I start planning the light and dark spaces as I am sketching and make sure I will be able to see all the things in the end picture that I want to see. This gets tricky with just black lines to do. I still struggle with it on every picture.
What are the main sources of inspiration for your art?
I take a lot of inspiration for my current projects from some of my old and present passions. These include: fairy tales, Victorian costume and invention (I love Steampunk), scary stories, my GM husband and our role playing group, and my love of all things historic and archaeological.
I have spent my entire life exposed to art and illustration, and I blame my Grandmother for it. My Grandmother, one Betty Pope, was a librarian and had a huge personal book collection going back to her youth. She always gave her grandkids books for their birthday and Christmas. For some reason her choices for her were so perfect, like she had taped into my brain and knew what I didn’t know I liked. Some of the books that stand out are the Wizard of Oz books with beautiful line illustrations by John R. Neill. That was when I fell in love with lines. My Grandma kept introducing me to artist and our favorites were: Virgil Finlay, Lawrence, Steven Fabian, Edward Gorey, Frazetta, and so many more. Wow that is a long ramble …
If you could have your portrait done by any artist, whether modern or historical, who would it be and why?
That is a tough one. I think if I wanted a darkly funny portrait I would want to be in an Heironymous Bosch painting. If I wanted to look elegant and idealized it would be Boticelli. In the end I think I would go with either a DaVinci sketch, a complete Virgil Finlay Drawing, or a drawing from my beloved figure drawing teacher and artist Ralph Barksdale.
Click on the link below to view Bobbie Berendson W.'s art in Issue 2:
Beauty and the Beast
The Little Mermaid
Snow White
This one took about 24 hours, most of that spent on the sketch honestly. Laying out all those books took forever! So did getting her expression just right, she needed to be worried and sorrowful at the same time. I start planning the light and dark spaces as I am sketching and make sure I will be able to see all the things in the end picture that I want to see. This gets tricky with just black lines to do. I still struggle with it on every picture.
What are the main sources of inspiration for your art?
I take a lot of inspiration for my current projects from some of my old and present passions. These include: fairy tales, Victorian costume and invention (I love Steampunk), scary stories, my GM husband and our role playing group, and my love of all things historic and archaeological.
I have spent my entire life exposed to art and illustration, and I blame my Grandmother for it. My Grandmother, one Betty Pope, was a librarian and had a huge personal book collection going back to her youth. She always gave her grandkids books for their birthday and Christmas. For some reason her choices for her were so perfect, like she had taped into my brain and knew what I didn’t know I liked. Some of the books that stand out are the Wizard of Oz books with beautiful line illustrations by John R. Neill. That was when I fell in love with lines. My Grandma kept introducing me to artist and our favorites were: Virgil Finlay, Lawrence, Steven Fabian, Edward Gorey, Frazetta, and so many more. Wow that is a long ramble …
If you could have your portrait done by any artist, whether modern or historical, who would it be and why?
That is a tough one. I think if I wanted a darkly funny portrait I would want to be in an Heironymous Bosch painting. If I wanted to look elegant and idealized it would be Boticelli. In the end I think I would go with either a DaVinci sketch, a complete Virgil Finlay Drawing, or a drawing from my beloved figure drawing teacher and artist Ralph Barksdale.
Click on the link below to view Bobbie Berendson W.'s art in Issue 2:
Beauty and the Beast
The Little Mermaid
Snow White