Andrew - Art and me.
Art has always been somewhere in my life but, now, it is the ‘backbone’ of my day-to-day routine, a positive that helps me cope with my negatives. Art is my best friend and we work well together – well, most of the time anyway. Of course, like any relationship we have bad days, but somehow we work things out in the end. When I draw I try to tell a story I don’t just put a tiger on a sheet of paper. I put the life of that tiger in a visual presence to show its thoughts, emotions, struggles etc.
Survivor, 2021.
Each piece of artwork is the result of an initial idea that never changes. I usually know what I want the picture to look like, so I research my subject and gather reference material close to what I want. I learn about what I’m intending to draw and why, because I need to know enough to make the drawing work.
What I love about art is that I do it for other people. I enjoy the process I use to complete a drawing but then the finished piece goes off to allow others to enjoy it. Many people have purchased my artworks, so my stories become theirs and that makes me proud.
When love found a way, 2022.
Art helped me cope during a long and difficult prison sentence and I know how important art and creativity is for those who are in prison right now. When someone praises a prisoner for what they have created, it gives them hope which can plant the seed of positive change in them.
I like to think outside the box and I can then put what I imagine inside the box so the viewer can sense what I see. Art is the best thing in my life right now and I feel blessed to have the ability to create what I achieve.
Keyworker, 2022. Andrew
Every piece I draw is different, so the next one starts another journey of learning and self-discovery. Along the way I collect some more confidence and self-worth.
Prodigal Arts now supports each journey I take and allows me to explore new ideas. I am so grateful for this because I have to think outside the box I’m already thinking outside of, and I imagine ideas I never thought were possible. I try to be as good as I can be when I draw but I know my best drawing is yet to be drawn.
Going, going, gone… (part 3 of triptych) 2022.