Lynn Boivin

by Lynn Boivin
(Georgia, USA)

Well let's see where I start, I am a 38 year old self taught artist....I have been drawing since I was about 7 yeas old. I have 3 children, 2 boys and 1 girl. They are 20, 15 and 13 and neither one is interested in drawing. I have been married to my current husband for 18 years whom is a blacksmith/welder.

I am trying to hold on to my drawing talent as long as I can because I know one day I will no longer be able to draw. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and my hands are changing more and more as time goes. Some days it hurts to hold my pencil so on those days I just leave it alone to prevent frustration. I get angry sometimes when I think about how I was the unlucky one to get this disease when I use my hands to create things that make others happy. I have learned to deal with it with the Lord's help and will draw as long as I can. I have Native American roots along with French. My father gave me the French side, which is where I got the talent, and my mother gave me Cherokee and Creek which is where I got the fire inside to create.

I once had an art teacher in high school tell me I didn't need to be in her class that I had no talent at drawing. Well I did not let this stop me instead she did me a favor, she gave me the fire to show her what I could do except it took 22 years to do it. I wish I could go to her now and show her what I can do and even show her my website and then ask her, am I still not worthy to be in your art class?

My main passion in drawing is portraits. I love drawing Native American portraits as it makes me feel closer to my roots. I live in Georgia, USA and have been here most of my life...so yeah I'm a Southern Belle. I use to draw as a child as a get away for me...to get lost from the real world I was in.

My technique of drawing is probably different from most. I have learned to use rulers and a grid to get my perspective's correct. Some artist think you are wrong for using items to aide in your drawing but I disagree. You should use what you have available to you to get your drawing to it's maximum potential. To me using a ruler or a grid is no different than using an eraser to make highlights or tissue to soften. They all aide you in creating your master piece. You are still free handing your work and using instruments to get your measurements correct is ok. A lot of very well known painters in the past used instruments to get their proportion correct. I drew without rulers and a grid up until 2 years ago when I learned from another well known artist that it's ok.

I mostly draw with graphite pencils but I want to perfect drawing with watercolor pencils. I use vellum Bristol paper to draw on. Why do I use it? Well it is a thicker paper so better quality and it has a slight textured surface which gives the skin a more realistic look. It is well worth the little extra to purchase.

My pencils, well I started off with cheap drawing pencils and did just fine with them until an artist had me to try Prismacolor Turquoise pencils and I will never go back to the cheap ones. They make them in all the ranges you will ever need.

I use a putty eraser to get my highlights and a piece of tissue to soften my shading so it looks more blended. I spray my portraits with a fixative when I'm done to prevent yellowing and smudging.

Well that's about it....

Wado (thank you),
Lynn Boivin


***Note from Kerry:
Hi Lynn
Thanks for such a wonderful introduction page, it is lovely to 'meet' you and I am sure you will prove to be an inspiration to many artists regardless of age.

I agree with you about the use of grids. Initially, I thought it was like cheating but I soon realized a lot of professional artists use grids. I have produced some amazing pieces recently using grids and even though I don't intend to use them on anything other than portraits, they have given me extra encouragement to try my hand at all things impossible!

So, I am a fan of grids. They simply help the artist to get the proportion correct, all the real work is done by the artist.

I was saddened to hear about the disease you have to cope with, I'm sorry Lynn. We will all pray for a miraculous cure for you.

I'm guessing you prefer to be called Lynn, rather than Sheryl?

Here is the link to your site:

theironpencil.com

Here are links to some of your drawings...

My Husband

My Daughter

Sassy

Deep Thought

A Mother's Love

Brother and Sister