I am not an avid reader.
But Dan Brown's novels always incorporate mystery in a chase for answers which is rather gripping.
I was maybe 13 or 14 when I read The Da Vinci Code
Set in Paris, The Da Vinci Code was one of the first books I've read in Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series. The novel was a mini-tour through some of Paris' most significant landmarks. On every page, I would imagine myself travelling with Robert Langdon (the symbolist in turtlenecks who swims laps every day and wears a mickey mouse watch). Eventually, at the end of the novel, Paris was on my bucket- list.
Inspired by the book, I started working on Paris 1 and Paris 2
Paris 1 is a close-up of the Golden clock at the Quai d'Orsay museum. I knew little about graphite grading* then and was working with a pencil only the length of my index finger. I still remember struggling to produce variations in gradient and texture with just the one pencil.
Paris 2 is a little different. I worked with a black ink ball-tipped pen on construction paper. It was my first attempt at perspective art* and getting my head around the symmetry was fairly difficult!
I was also a newcomer in the Instagram world. So as you would expect, the comments, likes and attention encouraged me more than anything. I've come a far way from there.
I've started painting for myself and to put my thoughts on a canvas solely because I feel so.
And it honestly feels so much more encouraging...
graphite grading: a numerical scale indicating hardness of the graphite core in a pencil. In general, higher the number, darker the mark left on the paper.
perspective art: technique used to create an illusion of 3-Dimensions on 2-Dimension-like surface.