A Somewhat Darker World

Since I was a young child spending my time in the woods, either alone or playing with friends, I imagined a whole other world filled with adventure, magic and unspeakable dangers... This world was my own, a fantasy world so to speak, and it existed only within my mind. As I grew older I found that there was a way into this mysterious world, and the secret key that unlocked the gateway from this world to that magical realm was as simple as paper and a pencil. With these tools I found that I could entertain myself for hours either by writing the tales of this strange world, or by drawing it into existence.

For as far back as I can remember I have found myself drawing and sketching this mysterious world that I created in my imagination. It is a pass time for me, and most of all it is a passion. I will never claim to be an amazing drawer or an amazing artist, but I am happy with the work that I produce simply because it comes straight out of my soul and into a place where I have the chance to share it with those around me.

Most who have seen my paintings have told me that they have a somewhat dark and almost creepy feel to them. This is quite true, for the world that I create is a somewhat darker world than the one I see around me. I do not really try to recreate a perfect representation of the world around me or focus a lot on making things look 100% realistic because that is not what art is about for me. Art for me, is about emotion and feelings more than physical detail. In some ways the work that I create is an almost impressionistic style focusing more on mood colors and light (or in my case, often shadows)

So why is it that I prefer painting this somewhat darker world rather than creating a happy world filled with sunshine and smiles? It all goes back to my overall theme of feelings and emotions. Someone once said that light lives in darkness and beauty lives in pain, and I've also heard tell that the greatest of art can only be born out of the greatest of pains and the deepest of wishes... in many ways I find this to be true. My art is a window of expression, and sometimes there are feelings too deep to be expressed by words alone, and sometimes there are feelings that dare not be said at all. That is where expression though imagery comes into play.

Where is it that I get my ideas? What do some of these images I create really mean? How do I go from an idea to a finished piece? Some have recently expressed interest in my artistic process, and for a while now I've been considering unlocking some of the secrets behind some of my paintings. Through this journal I am hopeful that I will be able to lay some of these questions to rest. I would like to share some of my thought process, decode some of the secrets and symbolism, as well as show some of my current projects, sketches and possibly even attempt to create a few tutorials to help others out as well.

I would like to invite you to join me on this tour though a realm within my mind; a somewhat darker world filled with magic, fantasy, and unspeakable dangers. A world born of the greatest pains and the deepest of wishes, and a world born of passion. Welcome my friends to A Realm Within.