A Morning With An Artist

After morning prayer at church, I trotted off to find an artist I know in town. Jon Houghton.

His wife told me he was teaching a workshop on portraiture in Eau Gallie, so off I went again.

I found the place – miracle enough – and Jon with his students. They were drawing the bust of a young woman who has the amazing talent of sitting stone still for fifteen minutes at a time. This whole session wowed me.

First, I can barely draw stick people. My artistic ability begins and ends with drawing a tree with a rail fence in front of it.

Second, I tried to sit still like the model. Didn’t last sixty seconds. The room was an round shape almost and surrounded by windows. The lighting was low and classical music played in the background.

While I watched and listened as Jon worked with each student, I jotted notes and even clips of dialog for book-next I’m writing: First Comes Love. I found myself being creative in a creative environment, thinking of all the highs and lows that must face a fine artist.

In some ways, I’m considered an artist, but I’m a writer, technically, and I have avenues for my work. Drawing and painting is difficult to sell well enough to make a living. But many do it.

Thursday Jon and I meet for more in-depth artist talk.

For me, it’s important to get inside the vocation of my characters. Because vocation leads to motivation which leads to conflict, tension or even resolution.

How does an artist think? Why art? Why a living at art? What is their motivation? Ever have a creative block? What options are open to artist to display or sell their work. Technique comes into play. History.

Jon was great. He kept quoting the greats in the workshop. Which gave me an idea… So, there is real value in getting under the skin of a character’s vocation/career/passion.

My heroine in this book, so far, is really jumping off the page. Now, I just need to fine tune my synopsis, get it to the folks who matter and see if they like her as much as I do.

Hey, God is good!