JOANA MIRANDA STUDIO

One of the reasons I decided to take Mattias Adolfsson’s drawing course was that I admired the imagination in his illustrations. Getting good at drawing is one thing…unlocking the power of your imagination can be a lot harder. As I’m discovering, when trying to marry art and imagination, the key ingredient is to let go.

Art and Imagination

In Matthias’ unit on perspective, one of the exercises is to imagine and draw a machine that will create our drawings for us. As with my aversion to math, I also have a bit of an allergy to the idea of machines. However, as I started thinking about what a “Joana Drawing Machine” would look like, this illustration emerged.

There are elements in the drawing that I wish I had done differently. But, surprisingly, I’m actually pleased with the direction it took overall.

What’s Next?

I have one more unit and a final project to complete for the course. I’m also anticipating the arrival of a new Moleskine journal since I only have a few more pages left in the journal I began as we entered lock down in mid-March. And, even more exciting, I’ve ordered another fountain pen. Note: While I’d love to try the Namiki Falcon Fountain pen that Matthias uses, it’s really expensive. Besides, fountain pens are very personal tools, so if I’m going to really splurge, I’d rather try out the fountain pen first. (Here’s hoping that the Fountain Pen Hospital in the Financial District will still be in business when we emerge from hiding and are free to roam about.) My on-the-way fountain pen – a Noodler’s Ahab Flex Fountain Pen – cost a mere $23. And it’s reported to be almost as good as the Namiki Falcon. I’ll be sure to let you know…

P.S.

If you want to see more of my illustrations, please visit my shops at Etsy or at Society6.