Candace Bell Interview

1. Ok first off, how long have you been drawing?

I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. My favourite subject in kindergarten was of
course arts and crafts! (Though that's what all kindergarteners do all day) I suppose I feel that drawing and being creative is just something I was born with.

2. And why did you first start to draw?

I don't suppose I had a particular reason. As stated in my answer to the previous question, it's just something that I was born with. The desire to draw has been instilled with me from a very young
age, and I don't think that urge to be creative will ever diminish.

3. What were the first things you ever drew, were they dragons?

The first things I remember I liked to draw the most were pencil sketches of large cats, wolves, horses and dolphins. I have an deep interest and connection with nature and animals, thus where
my talents began.

4. What made you want to draw dragons?

I've been asked that question many times before, and to tell you the truth, I am not sure what happened in my life to inspire this devotion to fantasy themed creatures. I'm not much of a book reader, so it couldn't have come from any fantasy books. All I can say is somewhere in between
my pencil sketches of animals, fantasy creatures started to lurk. I started to draw tigers with bird wings, and horses into pegasi and unicorns. Somewhere from that must have come the dragons!

5. What, if anything, do you see in your dragons?

I think of dragons as mostly being very ancient, more celestial beings. I see them as powerful, commanding yet noble. I have always been a fan of the western style dragon, and I tend to incorporate the mannerisms of real animals into my dragons. I like to give them feline type
stances and positions, with muscular bodies and deep chests. I think it brings out the feeling
of how I see them, and I try to convey that in my paintings.

6. Your favourite dragon if you have one? This can either be a specific dragon or just a picture
you've seen.

Its hard to say, I can appreciate all dragons, my own work or be it someone else's. If I look
though pictures of my own paintings I find myself unable to decide which is my favourite because each had a special feeling to it, and I have a different connection with all of them, so its hard to compare.

7. Do you have any special things you like do to while or before drawing to help give you
inspiration?

Generally ideas for new pieces of artwork just sort of pop in my head! If I'm needing inspiration
I may brows the web for inspiration. But generally I just put on some good music (whatever suits
my mood) and start sketching out the idea. Listening to music plays a big role in my creative designs.

8. Have you done any courses in art of any sort?

No, I'm largely self taught. I learned a few things in high school art class I suppose, but I was generally keen on how to make good artwork already, even if I didn't know all the technical
terms, or why a certain technique worked and others didn't. But generally I saw high school art
class as a hindrance to what I really wanted to do. Drawing the same chair at different angles with messy charcoal with the rest of the class inst my idea of self expression.

9. What is your favoured weapon when it comes to your art? (eg pencil, oil pants etc)

Can I choose them all? I'm fairly versatile. I like all sorts of mediums and it all depends on my
mood. I work with sculpting clay, acrylic, oil, coloured pencil, ink and watercolour.

10. Tell us a little bit about the stages you go through while drawing your pictures.

Well when it comes to drawing I pretty much just draw what's in my mind. If is a painting, I tend to take a pencil right to the canvas and do a very light sketch over it so I can get a good idea of
where I want everything, and use that as a guide. Then I take out the paints and start filling it in. I usually always start with the background and work my way to the foreground of a painting. The
actual dragons or main subjects are almost always painted last.

11. List a few of your other interests apart from drawing.

I'm an avid animal lover. I run a website for hamster lovers called www.hamstercentral.com I enjoy music, web design, role-playing, the outdoors... My life is fairly simple hehe

12. Is drawing your full time job?

Yes and no. Or how about.. “I try?” Its certainly not easy trying to be a self supportive artist, but I
do try. I'm a full time freelance artist and I work from home. My main source of income however
has come from digital artwork. I have a business in the online virtual world called Second Life,
and I design fantasy themed digital content for it.

13. And finally who is your favourite artist?

Id have to say that my favourite artist is Christy "Goldenwolf" Grandjean. She specializes in Anthropomorphic Wildlife, and I just adore her work. Its the mixture of fantasy themed creatures
and the spiritual messages I feel they convey to me personally. Her website is http://www.goldenwolfen.com

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