I started this piece back in November of last year around the time that I was participating in the 151 Midtown Arts Show. As a matter of fact, anyone visiting the show may well have seen me working on this piece live. These progress pictures were originally uploaded to my Twitpic Account linked to my Twitter Account. If you haven’t yet followed me, I invite you to! I frequently share in-progress shots and tiny glimpses into things I’m currently doing. In addition, there is also my Facebook Fan Page which I also invite you to join– I’m cooking up a fun contest that is available only to those who follow me on Twitter of Facebook! More news to follow…

This piece started out as an idea to complete a ballerina painting to represent each season, however it somehow took me two full seasons to finish this one. I suppose it’s just one of those things– life gets in the way. I’m in the middle of a day-job transition and am looking into grad school. Plus, within this time frame, I’ve moved, opened an online store, and been dealing with a handful of commissions.

Anyway, this is a fairy-esque ballerina who represents the spirit of Autumn. I made her outfit a little more modern in style because I didn’t feel that a true pancake tutu would fit the scene. And of course, she has a Welsh Corgi escort– no fairy should be without one! This was completed with Windsor & Newton watercolors on Bristol Board.

Prints of this piece will be available shortly, and will available at all of my upcoming shows this year.

Autumn Ballerina Preliminary Sketches: Ballpoint pen on paper

Autumn Ballerina – 11″ x 14″ Watercolor and ink on Bristol

Autumn Ballerina – 11″ x 14″ Watercolor and ink on Bristol

Autumn Ballerina – 11″ x 14″ Watercolor and ink on Bristol

Autumn Ballerina – 11″ x 14″ Watercolor and ink on Bristol

This past Valentine’s weekend I was privileged to see the Atlanta Ballet’s special Valentine’s performance of Dracula. For those of you who don’t know, I’m a complete ballet nerd. I take ballet classes (have been for about three years now), and try to read about and see as much ballet as possible. It’s a fascinating art form, and I find that ballet-inspired things keep creeping back into my work often.

Lucy as Nosferatu – Graphite and watercolor in Moleskine

Seeing Dracula as a ballet was simply amazing. I had been wanting to see the AB’s Valentine Special for years now (first The Great Gatsby and then Romeo and Juliet) but circumstances frequently made it to where I couldn’t. I’m thankful I made it to this year’s show because it was in the AB’s new venue, the Cobb Energy Centre. It’s a beautiful theater with an expansive auditorium and wonderful sound and lighting. My technical director boyfriend was going ape over the high powered lighting in there, which was amusing and nerdy.

Lucy – Graphite and watercolor in Moleskine

They did a really good job of making this ballet creepy. The score and choreography were mesmerizing, and they really managed to capture that feeling of, well… death. Dracula himself, played by John Welker was fantastic– his movements were loaded with sexual tension and frightening power. Sensuous and fluid, he commanded the stage completely every time he came on.

Mina – Graphite and watercolor in Moleskine

My favorite ballerina, Anne Tyler Harshbarger, played as Lucy in this performance, and as usual I loved her. I saw her earlier this season in Swan Lake as one of the swans (and various other corps parts), as well as Ballerina Marya in The Nutcracker. As cliché as it may sound, I loved the part of Lucy after her death and rebirth as a Nosferatu. Maybe it’s just seeing a ballerina spattered in blood and looking mostly dead with disheveled hair that did it for me. I think that makes sense… a lot of my illustrations have been about the decay of femininity, and portraying pretty or innocent, child-like things with a touch of darkness and grotesque to them. Right up my alley.

Dracula and Lucy – Graphite and watercolor in Moleskine

Some of the other audience members really held my interest as well. A lot of gothic types came out to play, and I saw many a hoopskirt, petticoat, and strange Victorian-flavored attire. I also saw lots of purple and red hair, striped stockings, and lip piercings. My boyfriend and I made quite the game of spotting the most interesting characters wandering around during the intermissions.

Needless to say, the entire experience was amazing. I left with my head filled of images that I wanted to get out just as soon as I got home, and these sketches with watercolor overlaid were some of those. They were quick studies, maybe a handful of minutes each, and perhaps about an hour for the bigger Dracula and Lucy piece.