Original Birth Art
When I was a kid, all I drew were horses. I pored over the Walter Foster "How to Draw" books for hours. Then, as I got older, I didn't have as much time for artwork. I took 2 art classes in high school that were both a waste of time. About eight years later, I took a couple of drawing classes at the community college. I really enjoyed them... but it was hard to be interested in drawing vases when I was more interested in other subjects. I did learn a lot from those two classes though, and I thank the two instructors. They taught me a lot about shading and tone.It was several years before I picked up a pencil again. I was busy having a few babies at the time. Then I began studying childbirth. I taught some childbirth classes and attended births as a doula. I occasionally thought about drawing... I'd make a mental note about how the light and shadow played over a pregnant belly, or how it highlighted the cute little button nose on a newborn. Finally, my husband bought me a painting kit for my birthday. I had never spent much time painting, but I started playing with the acrylic paints and... it wasn't half bad! I joined a few discussions at various art sites online for more tips. At that time, a specific size was selling well called an ACEO (Art Card Edition or Original). I started drawing and painting them. Some of them sold quickly on eBay. I was so excited... someone was willing to pay for my artwork!
I played around with some styles and subjects. I started with dogs... I had always been able to draw dogs pretty well. Then I drew a whole bunch of different rabbit breeds for the rabbit barn at the County Fair. I started painting some pregnancy-related pictures, and then began drawing more realistic baby drawings. My birth art now encompasses pregnancy through early babyhood.I do commissions occasionally from photographs. If you have a photograph you'd like rendered as a drawing, let me know and I'll be happy to do my best. You can email me on our Contact Us page. You can also see a lot of my work at Toni Creates Art. I also have many of my original birth art and other pieces available at Zazzle.com, so you can choose a design you like on a shirt, a mug, notecards, a mousepad, posters and more. Artistic ability has flowed through the family tree to our children as well. Many of them draw, and they get better every year. My oldest daughter, Morwenna, has studied the Japanese manga style of cartooning for most of her life. At the risk of bragging, I must say she is getting very good at what she does. She is offering some of her work in our Zazzle.com store as well.
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