About — MG Drawing Studio

Almost everyone in the world can relate to using a pencil and paper at some point in their lives.

It's an easier gap to bridge between artist and non-artist compared to say oil painting or watercolor. Add on top of that I'm red/green colorblind, it's understandable why drawing is my preferred medium of choice. I enjoy the process of making art...down to the nitty gritty details that make it come alive. Depicting a likeness is the goal many artists aim for, but I try to get deeper than that. Textures like fabrics, skin and hair are challenging, but they also bring out that certain familiarity of life. Perhaps even more than the process itself, I enjoy the reactions of my viewers as they slowly begin to realize these aren't photographs.

Background

Art has been with me in one form or another since I was old enough to write. My father dabbled in oil painting at different points in his life, but I think the majority of my art influence comes from my grandmother. She's never stopped making art after all of these years, which is perhaps what I admire most about her. All that has changed is what mediums she uses. In a way, I feel as if I'm carrying on some sort of family tradition.

I was fortunate enough to be brought up in a school district that still valued the importance of art in this world. My high school art teacher, introduced us to many different methods of creating two dimensional art. The curriculum of my high school's art program was a strict and rewarding one; both stringent and competitive. The district would host an art show at least once a year as well as encourage students to participate in a number of art shows/competitions outside the district. My junior year, I took home second place in the 7th congressional district art competition. It was through those positive experiences I chose to pursue art beyond grade school.

I began my collegiate studies of art with Scientific Illustration and Figure Drawing. I gained something different from each of these styles of drawing. I still carry with me the principles of their teachings. It was during my undergrad that I started my career as a personal trainer, a somewhat natural path for a student athlete with an eye for precision. In 2008, I graduated with a Bachelor of the Arts degree with a concentration in Figure Drawing. Immediately upon graduation, I dove head first into personal training full-time, leaving little room for anything else. Art fell by the wayside and it stayed that way for a number of years, unintentionally.

In 2013, I got the itch to make art again. I was following a number of artists on social media sites. Inspired by a local tattoo artist’s graphite drawings that the spark was reignited. I began making art once again with no plans of stopping.