IT ALL BEGAN:

…with my birth: an induction into the love of art and music. Throughout my first years, the sound of music was inescapable in my home and I have since learned to appreciate that early influence. Like most children I began drawing, off and on, in kindergarten. It wasn't until the sixth grade that I began to take visual art seriously. A full year had passed since I received an award for Most Outstanding Band Student, but this year was different. I was asked by my instructor to join an advanced arts group. Within this new perception of my abilities, I nurtured my desire to create all through gradeschool.

Coming from a small school system, the art program was limited. In highschool

(eleventh and twelfth grades respectively), I was lucky enough to have the benefit of Advanced Placement Art classes. These classes, coupled with my love and talent for music, narrowed my focus on an impending college career. Within five years my medium went from graphite to pastels. Within five years my technique went from blend and highlight to blend, layer, build, cut and paste. The best artistic lesson I learned in college was to follow my heart. This advice directed me away from seeing how closely I could duplicate images and toward how much of my soul I could inject into my work. Instead of trying to impress people with my skill, I do my best to touch them. Although I love drawing portraits, my hearts desire is social issues of various caliber. To explore these issues, I construct visual answers/questions to topics that I need to resolve for myself and that I would like to see society discuss. Whether drawing, painting, photographing, or collaging images, I have realized that the best way for me to develop my talents is to push the boundaries established by my past successes and failures. I desire to be an effective artist...
 
 
 
 
 
 

drek@arches.uga.edu