Perspective

Artists Create Original Work:

      I based this loosely off of the mills I remember that were situated on Souhegan River, below main street in the town that I grew up.  I don't remember the area exactly, because I thought I could always just go back and look at it again, and I wasn't really paying attention when we went down their anyhow because I was, like, seven the last time we visited and there were only shops, and it was boring.  So, in my memory, it's sort of a mystical place, covered in the haze of partially-imagined details.  I also added in elements of fantasy, because while the mills  are part of where I come from, the fantastical is what fuels me.

      I also left a border around the picture proper, because I thought that it looked sort of cool, especially since you can see the skeleton of one of the buildings in pencil in the border.  It makes the transition from three-dimensional to two-dimensional.  I could tell you that I left that there because it's my love of pencil and paper, but really, I just thought it looked cool.

Artists Develop Art Making Skills:

      I haven't really used pen before, because I have a fear that making lines darker will make them look crummier, and why would I want to throw away all of my hard work?  I used shading, too, which I use a lot (like, a lot), so I guess I can't say that's developing art-making skills.  I was going to shade with pen, but I couldn't do it.  What if I messed up, or ripped through the paper?  I was using newspaper print, so there was every possibility that that would happen. But, I used pen without messing up too badly, and I'm going to consider that a victory for moi.