Art of Cinnaber, Thoughts by Amber + art print giveaway

Cinnaber is a new Etsy shop featuring the work of talented Florida artist, Amber.

I first met Amber in the Etsy Forums when her Avatar caught my eye.

Yuna Falling by Amber

I really admired her line & shading, as well as the unusual upside down portrait composition. So off to her shop where I bought some lovely prints. The only question now is whether to give them as gifts (my original intention) or keep for myself...

By the way, her prices are very reasonable - $4 for stickers, $10 - $15 for her beautiful prints and only $50 for a custom portrait (person or pet) made from your photo. She will create your portrait in graphite, colored pencil or photoshop, which ever you prefer.

She also accepts commissions for drawings of hands & feet . What a unique family portrait that would be!

Amber was kind enough to stop by and share some of her thoughts on art today. She has also donated 1 of her wonderful prints for next Thursday's random drawing.

You are very skilled with a pencil, Amber. When did you first become interested in art?

Tea Time by Cinnaber

Amber: Like all young children, I loved to draw. I remember the first time I was artistically inspired. It was during arts and crafts time at home. My two-year-old self sat on the carpet, doodling with a crayon clenched in my palm. I drew what all little girls liked to draw: hearts, rainbows, and the people and pets I loved. Only, my drawings did not look like my subjects. Instead I drew them how I imagined the things looked. My hearts were distant relatives of the marshmallow family, my rainbows were a mess of toxic bright colors, and my people more closely resembled giant bouncy-balls with sticks puncturing the sides at random angles then anything living. To a two-year-old, having never drawn anything better, these drawing were perfect. I spent many countless hours glued to a sheet of paper, mesmerized by their creation.

You have a great story about your "First artistic insight". Would you mind sharing it?

Hoback Rabbit by Cinnaber

Amber: I was soon humbled by my four-year-old brother, who had experience to double my own. During arts and crafts on that fateful day, I had drawn my usual, bouncy-ball people while my brother evolved his own bouncy ball people into stick figures. Seeing his drawing was like waking up from a daydream. Suddenly the concept became so obvious: of course people have bodies in the real world, so by giving people bodies in my drawing, I could make my image of a person more clear. At the time I was too overwhelmed with my feelings to give much thought to my discovery. I had no idea why adding the body made my brother's drawing look so much better then my own, but I did know that it looked and felt like the right thing to do. Little did I know I had gained my first artistic insight.

While visiting your cinnamonsoldier.deviantart.com gallery I noticed a number of characters from anime and video games.

Yuna Singing by Amber

Amber: Artistic inspiration struck me first through video games. When I played video games, I entered their world. As quickly as I was captivated by the games' beauty, I wondered at their mystic powers. How did the games hold me in their spell? There had to be a logical explanation. What were the game designers doing that I could not wrap my mind around?

Amber: These games were artistic masterpieces devoted to arousing human emotions. They awoke a passion inside me. I wished to harness their power over emotive beauty and express it through my own individuality. This passion broke from me through a pencil and paper.

What caused your art to move beyond video/anime phase?

Water Nymph by Cinnaber

Amber: Before high school, my drawings never went beyond the outline phase. I was too terrified to cross the point of no return by putting down color or shading. My high school art teacher made it very clear that this basic level of art would not be accepted. If I truly wanted to grow as an artist I needed to shed my old habits.

Husky by Amber

Amber: Gradually, I started looking at the world differently. No longer was a shirt a shirt; it was now a complex web of subtle values, underlined by textures, and defined by value and contract. I began to break down the world around me into artistic terms. From there, I would lather layers of graphite onto a sheet of paper until a gradation of values was finally achieved. Now, shading is all I do. I love to hint a smile through the ceases of the skin, conduct movement through every strand of hair, and speckle magic in a shimmer of light.

Love by Amber

And we love seeing the results of your efforts! You have developed a fabulous eye for detail & your love of drawing really shows in your artwork, Amber.

Readers, if you've enjoyed Amber's thoughts & art, stop back for Studio Tour Saturday. She is currently a sophmore in college & will take us on a guided tour through her modest space & great imagination!

NOW FOR THE PRIZE DETAILS! Next Thursday 10/1 at approximately noon (EST). I will hold a random drawing for an 8.5" x 11" print of Amber's wonderful piece, The Little Gift . Tell you what, I'll also custom cut an acid free mat for it. Winner's choice of black or white mat.

Little Gift by Amber

TO ENTER the random drawing, just leave a comment on this blog before the October 1st deadline. It is that easy. Contest is open worldwide with free shipping. Please make sure your contact info is in your profile or comment.

Please note I am also hosting another giveaway for the generous folks at Uprinting.com. On 10/22 one lucky ArtSnark reader will win a 2 ft. x 3ft. custom printed vinyl banner of their own design CLICK HERE for details & to enter banner giveaway.