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| My name is Jennifer and I live in North Carolina. I had art class in elementary school and middle school of course (everyone had to take it), but my first attempts on my own were probably in 8th grade shortly after I started my love for the tv show M*A*S*H. I had got a M*A*S*H book that was filled with pictures, and I tried to draw pictures of some of the cast members. Click to here to see some examples of my first attempts. I guess I had noticed how other fans of the show had posted their fan art on some websites, and I wanted to give it a try myself. Sometime after that I searched for celebrity portraits, and came across a site called "How To Draw Lifelike Pencil Portraits" by Paul Wilkinson. I looked at the portraits on that site, and thought they were amazing. There, I also learned the gridding method, and decided that I must try it out. My first drawing using the grid method was of Don Johnson. It didn't turn out too bad, so I kept practicing. My next attempts were of Mike Farrell (BJ Huneycutt on M*A*S*H) and U2's lead singer, Bono. I even sent one of my drawings to Dick Martin from the TV Show "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In". I had just started watching the show since it started coming on again on the Trio channel, and thought it was just so funny! I sent him a portrait that I drew of him, and about a month later he wrote me back! I had never had a famous person write to me before, so I couldn't believe it! Check out the letter here. I began taking art class in High School in 11th grade. I took Art I the 2nd semester, and Art II 1st semester in 12th. In Art 1 I ended up winning first place for a portrait that I drew. It was also featured on the front cover of the paper that gives a listing of all of the classes and course descriptions for the next year. Luckily I was able to sign up for Art III and Graphic Design for the 2nd semester of my senior year. It was either that or Honors Spanish III and AP Enviromental Science which I decided I'd rather not take at all. In Art II I was part of a group of students that painted a mural on the 2nd hall of our school.... it didn't end up being finished until the end of the year, but oh well, at least we got it done. Art III consisted of only 4 students, including me and we were also in the class with the Art I students. We were outside the classroom for much of the time though, painting other murals... or should I say, a lot of trees. :) I've got the pictures back that I took of the murals and I'll post them on this site sometime so you can see what I'm talking about. My senior year ended with a Merit award from the Scholastic Art Awards for a picture that I drew of Mrs. King, my former History teacher, and awards for both Art and Business, which I am very proud of. The picture that I drew of Mrs. King brought me just a little bit more recognition I guess, since people were stopping me in the hall asking "Aren't you the one that drew the picture of Mrs. King?" or "That picture you drew of Mrs. King is so good!" Just before graduation my mom was somewhere and saw a teacher that asked who I was... she told him and he was like "ohhh Jennifer the artist!" So that was pretty cool to hear. Update: So, what am I doing now? After graduating from college w/ an Associate's degree in Internet Technologies, I landed a job by chance, with a local bank... having nothing to do w/ Internet Technologies, except spending an entire day setting at a desk in front of a computer. Fast typing being my advantage. My love and passion now is music, and I'm an avid fan of Elton John's music, and his entire band - Guy Babylon on keyboards, Bob Birch on bass and vocals, Davey Johnstone on guitars and vocals (my guitar hero!), John Mahon on percussion, and my favorite and the best drummer in the world, Nigel Olsson on drums and vocals. I've been playing piano myself for about 13 years now, drums for about one year (teaching myself) and have just recently bought myself an Epiphone Les Paul Studio Chameleon electric guitar so I'll be more motivated to actually learn how to play. Want to know more? Check me out on MySpace: www.myspace.com/nigefan05 1/13/2008 |
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| May 20, 2004 |
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