February Artist Adriana K. Maxwell

ADRIANA K. MAXWELL

I love art because I am adding beauty to the world. I want to bring joy and wonder, to focus on little moments made significant.  I enjoy playing with color.

I love drawing children and their expressions.  When I saw Fauzia’s smile, she was so happy, I had to draw her!

I am always looking for that spark, the rainbow spurting out of the broken waterpipes.  If you catch me staring, I am probably drawing you in my head.  I am tracing out the highlights of your hair, wondering which pencil could capture the depth of your eyes, determining whether you are more pencil or watercolor.  I am trying out different lines, trying to get the grace of your hands, dividing and rearranging you into a mosaic of the things I found best. 

For my Sleeping Surfer, I first saw a photo of my friend’s daughter sleeping on a pile of blankets. After I did the outline, I asked my followers where she should be sleeping.  I loved the suggestion of the beach.

Never is God more real to me than when I am trapped by the mere twist of someone’s lips or the curve of their ear. When I am puzzled by just a part, I am in awe of the Maker of the whole.

My “Flower Boy”, colored pencil, done for @angelganev’s Instagram “draw this in your style” challenge.

I started out drawing with pencils as a child.  When I was five, I had an excellent art teacher, Mrs. Ury, who taught me how to think as an artist.  She allowed each student to bring in what we wanted to draw and asked us questions, “Where is the light coming from?  Is the line sharp or a gentle curve?” 

After she moved to China, my dad helped me.  He had a side business, Maxwell Family Keepsakes, doing black and white pencil portraits.  I am honored to continue that legacy.

When I got a touchscreen laptop, I started doing digital art.  I began by drawing a picture on paper, taking a photo, then tracing it on the computer.  Now, I have a small Wacom tablet that connects to my laptop that I draw on with a stylus.  I love digital art because it allows me to experiment by changing color, sizes, and arrangement and saving different versions.  When you draw traditionally, sometimes you are afraid of messing up a great sketch by coloring it.  Drawing digitally gave me the freedom to play with color, which helped me with my colored pencil art.

I started painting more once I had my own space to be messy in.  And lately, I also like to draw with markers and then go over it with a wet paintbrush.  This method allows me to have more control over my initial lines while still getting the soft watercolor look.

Each medium has special qualities.  I like the careful detail I can get in my colored pencil, playing with vivid colors in digital, and the soft color and flow of watercolor.

I enjoy sharing my passion by teaching others, including teaching elementary art when I worked at a school in Honduras.  I encourage students that everyone can be an artist, and that it is a skill, not just a talent.  You can always practice and improve!

While originally from Buchanan, Michigan, I now work and draw in Mishawaka, IN.  You can contact me on Facebook (@Adriana.K.Maxwell) or Instagram (@Adriana.K.Maxwell).  You can also email me at Adriana.k.maxwell@gmail.com.  I would love to connect with you!

I like my Flat Family style because the faceless look allows people to focus on the ideal and identify with it (father/son/love/care/trust).  And yet, they’re still recognizable.  I try to say the most with the fewest number of lines.

“Cosmic Squirrel”-This is my favorite drawing of Inktober 2020, using watercolor and my marker and wet paintbrush technique.  I also used salt to add texture.  The prompt was “rodent” and I was inspired by how my college friends and I would joke that the black squirrels were from Mirkwood.  I have a story idea that black squirrels can cross worlds, so here is a squirrel leaping through with a stolen star.

Although I’m not generally fond of spiders, I love watching peacock spider videos, so I did this cute Valentine’s Day one.

I like drawing colorful animals.  This is one of my cards.  I know it’s not a common subject, but I just really like octopi.  I’ve been delighted to see that many people like this one as well.  Do something you love just because you like it, and it’s astonishing how it will speak to others.

Adriana K. Maxwell