Nature

Many of the participants for the day were inspired by Aspen Grove's beautiful flowerbeds, the surrounding mountains, and bugs and butterflies! So naturally, I became inspired to draw one of the flowerbeds as well! Here are some of the process drawings:

A Man's Best Friend

A common theme of Aspen Grove was meeting someone you love, this is Alan and he met Maybelle his dog through the Human Society at Aspen Grove.

This is the image of Alan's drawing of Maybelle:

Getting To Know You

Back in the studio I began working on a series of portraits. Combination of drawing, watercolor, painting and color pencils faces of those I had the pleasure of getting to know came to life on paper. This first image is of Timothy, he found love at Aspen Grove; he met his wife while shopping.

Gathering Drawings and Inspiration

Back in my studio in Cleveland I began organizing all the drawings into piles based on subject matter. I had beautiful drawings of flowers, bugs and other aspects of the breathtaking views surrounding Aspen Grove. I had images of people, loved ones, Mom and Dad's, family and friends. I also had great images of the Family Movie Night, drawings of the magician and the acrobats ! Drawings then were all sprayed with fixative to preserve their color and then scanned one by one.

Back at the studio I began creating a storyboard based off the wonderful drawings the community created as well as all the members of the community that I met, from shop owners to volunteers.

Aspen Grove

The beautiful Rocky Mountains in June were the perfect backdrop for an amazing day at Aspen Grove! Here are some highlights from the day:

And I met some amazing people from the community to draw and share stories with!

We created many drawings until we couldn't draw anymore! The sun began to set and the Family Movie Night started just as the last ray of sunshine faded from the sky. I said goodbye to Colorado with a large portfolio of drawings and many great memories!

The Start of It All

I have been given the unique opportunity to be the artist in Residence for a one year period for a local company in Cleveland. This company has created various lifestyle malls around the country and the residency program allows the artist to visit various properties around the USA and create an art project. As a Children's Book Illustrator by trade, I wanted to create a book with each community I met- telingl their unique story. With the help of many volunteers from the community I began collecting stories and drawings speaking of memories and moments experienced at one particular location. My first stop was Denver Colorado, Aspen Grove Center.