Art Time

 August 19,  2017

I am getting some really good portfolio pieces done while I out at the club, so my parents are pretty pleased.  Mrs. Foster, my art advisor, is meeting me during the summer and coaching me on my portfolio, and she is very pleased with the work I am getting completed.  Graham was back from college, but I barely saw him because I was either painting and drawing at Muir, or I was working there at the club office or at the spa. 

When I was at the pool one day, I heard Amy Hammond talking about her son Dylan to Mrs. Moore.  

“He is actually really happy at the Camp site, he wants to have time to work on his art, so he has plenty of time.”

Jenny Moore smiled a big grin and looked over at me.  “Val here is doing the same thing, she is working on her art too.  Val honey, you should go to their camp site and visit Dylan and maybe you two can work on your art together.  It seems like it would be more enjoyable for both of you that way.”

Amy Hammond lit up with a smile as well.  “That would be wonderful Val.”

That afternoon, with a bag full of my pencils, watercolors, pads and sketchbooks, Amy and I walked thru the camping areas at Muir and came to their site where they had a cute little airstream and a few tents set up.  Dylan was seated on a blanket spread out over the grass with his markers and drawing pads wearing jeans, tee-shirt and sneakers.  I felt a bit odd, trespassing naked into his textile bubble, but Amy winked at me and urged me on.

“Hey Dylan, I hear you have been working really hard on your drawing skills and artwork.  I’ve been working on my portfolio to get in school too.  Mind if I look at what you’ve been up to?”

Dylan cast a bit of a suspicious look up toward me.  “I’ve mostly been doing gamer fan art- nothing that high-brow.”  He started flipping thru a sketch book showing me pen and marker illustrations of warriors and magical beasts from a number of different games.  What he lacked in technical skill, he made up for in patience.  The chain mail in all his illustrations was lovingly drawn with glimmering highlights.  The weapons were rendered to look cruel and crude.

He had success selling his illustrations on an on-line street art marketplace called Etsy, so he was really enthused about making more drawings to put up on his shop.  I took out my sketchbook and pencils and started sketching next to him and the afternoon flew by pretty quickly.