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Creative Feature: Paul Ramey

My fourth Creative Feature involves two of my favourite pastimes: writing and art!

Last year, Paul Ramey’s book ‘Edgar Wilde and the Lost Grimoire’ enthralled me. Wonderful imagery amidst an intriguing storyline drew me right into a mystery that Edgar Wilde, a teenage top-hat wearing misfit, stumbles into whilst taking amateur tours around his local cemetery. You’ll have to read the book to find out more…no really, you should! Let me introduce you to an author who does much more than write!

Paul Ramey – Writer, Graphic Artist and Musician

Paul Ramey – Writer, Graphic Artist and Musician

What inspires you, and what brought about your interest in graveyards?

I have always been thoroughly fascinated with lost or forgotten history. Capturing the mystery of times, places, and people that recorded history has lost track of is definitely what led me down the path toward writing my young-adult historical mystery, Edgar Wilde and the Lost Grimoire. Also, I tend toward “Goth/Victorian” aesthetics, and the stories and characters draw tremendously from that.

As far as graveyards – aren’t they just the most fascinating places? I remember when I was 15 and exploring the hills of Eastern Kentucky where my dad’s side of the family has a little nook up in the hills called Ramey Branch. And up near the top of one of those hills I stumbled onto a few small, forgotten graves. And one of them, I later discovered, turned out to be my great-great grandmother, and her name was America. America Ramey. Can you believe that? I’d never even heard of her before. And every family has markers of their past, their history, scattered like breadcrumbs as they’ve made their incredible journeys across continents and through time.

On another level, if you’re an artist then the beautiful iconography, calligraphy, materials, and styles are endlessly fascinating and addicting. Many of these places are truly national treasures – outside museums with their own stories and ambience. And even the saddest, neglected cemetery still holds so many stories and opportunities for discovery, and for restoration. One of my most important goals for the Edgar Wilde books has been to educate and inform young adults as to the importance and wonder of cemeteries, by trying to weave some mysteries through the stones.

Edgar Wilde and the Lost Grimoire – Paul Ramey

You’ve used your graphic design skills to produce a great book cover for ‘Edgar Wilde’ and I’m familiar with your pen and ink drawings. How does your art fit and complement your writing?

My artist “inner eye” is vital to writing. I’ve mentioned it before, that the cover of Edgar Wilde was one of the first things that showed up, and I often kept a printed draft of it near where I was writing, helping me to imagine more clearly a book that didn’t yet exist. The auditory aspect of writing is certainly important – the cadence, the rhythm of the text – but a lot of my style is ultimately visual conceptualization and I think a lot in terms of colors, textures, and shadows and light. And to be honest, I always thought of my novel as a potential screenplay anyway, for an eventual Edgar Wilde motion picture! I mean, if J.K. Rowling can do it, right? So again, very visual.

Concept art for Edgar Wilde: Chapter 2, Chapter 17, Corinthian, and Edgar and Shelby (left to right, top to bottom) – Paul Ramey

You have wide-ranging talents encompassing writing, music and art. Do you have a favourite creative ability, favourite colours and techniques?

Growing up, I dreamed of being a comic book writer and artist, and I still enjoy exploring the comic book styles of art. But my detailed pen-and-ink “stipple” work is the closest thing I have to an artistic craft. I’m very proud of it – these days many people who see it think it’s the result of some sort of computer program, but it’s really me, doing hours of dot-dot-dot with a pen! It’s a very zen, meditative process, and I love that place within me.

I have to also mention another source of creative pride, and that is my ability as a music composer and lyricist. I’ve been told I have a wonderful sense of wordplay and craft, and it’s exciting to be able to explore that kind of music-driven poetry and storytelling – more of a focus on essence, and intuitive partnering with the instruments, the harmonies, and tones. In 2009 I finished work on a goth/rock opera called Veil & Subdue – the Courtship of The Black Sultan, which was a three-year endeavor. The final, published Veil & Subdue is a 2-CD, 22-song album that I conceived of and recorded with my collaborator friend, Anna Loy (Anna K. Meade). The story is basically about Morpheus, the Dream King, and his ill-fated love of a mortal woman. It is based on classical mythology, but also draws inspiration from the “night terror” phenomenon that many people experience. It includes a complete libretto and is ready to be staged, if the right people come along to finally bring that dream to life. In the meantime it is available as a CD album only.

Veil and Subdue – Paul Ramey and Anna K. Meade

Your work is very varied, but what do you consider your best work to date – do you have a favourite piece?

I guess because I am all over the place I don’t really have a favourite. I think that many of my pen-and-ink “stipple” pieces are quite good – I look at some of them now and don’t even know how I pulled them off. My personal favourite, though, is an acrylic painting from 2004. I’m not the best painter, but I am still so thrilled with the finished product, and with the depth of symbolism going on in there. It’s called The Great Escape, and it features a character that showed up in a few paintings of mine many years back, called the Merry Prankster. He was sort of a mischievous harlequin-garbed clown character, and represented change – usually traumatic life change that you just have to laugh about because it’s just so ridiculously overwhelming. In this particular painting, he’s rising up out of a painting, so from 2-D to 3-D. He’s trying to escape his situation. But there’s a hand also rising up out of the painting, pulling him back in. It’s a female hand, and obviously represents a relationship memory or situation. He’s caught there, mid-flight, with the past literally trying to pull him back down onto the canvas. It was the last time I ever painted the Prankster, so I guess he’s still frozen there, forever caught.

The Great Escape – Paul Ramey (acrylic)

I know there’s a second ‘Edgar Wilde’ book in the works, which I am incredibly excited for, what are your other future plans?

There are actually a second and third “Edgar Wilde” book currently in development, and that’s where my focus is. One of my most important personal achievements in the past decade has been learning how to focus on long-term projects, and to keep showing up for it. The Veil & Subdue project was my first major success with that. Edgar Wilde was the second. I believe Joni Mitchell coined the phrase “the rotating of the crops.” It means that you do some art, then eventually move to a writing phase, then some music (or whatever other passions you have), and then eventually you come back to the beginning. So it’s a cycle, and helps to nourish and inform each stage as you keep going around and around. That process really resonates with me, but I think mostly because I’m easily distracted, and “rotating crops” is a very comforting thought for a distracted person – an “easy out” for unfinished projects. No, these days I have to make sure I don’t drift too far, because I know I may never come back to finish what I started. So these days it’s all Edgar, all the time! And a little craft beer homebrewing. And a whole lot of raising my beautiful daughter, Sofia!

Pen and ink stipple drawing – Paul Ramey

Lastly, if you could commission anything for yourself, money no object, what would it be?

I’d like to send myself on a worldwide journey to explore and document fascinating cultures, architecture, achievement, history, and experiences (including culinary). Preferably by sailboat. Possibly an ongoing blog, with eventual books to follow (both fiction and non-). And at the end of it all, I’d like for those endeavors to sustain me so that I never have to worry about finances again.

I’d also like to commission myself to take on the inevitable film adaptation of Edgar Wilde. I have no idea how to do that, but I think I could give it a shot!

A fascinating look into your creative life, Paul, thank you for sharing your many talents with us! I like the ‘crop rotation’ theory…especially as I’m an arty writer, so I’m looking forward to a little rotation myself!

Please find out more about: Edgar Wilde and the Lost Grimoire: www.ninemusepress.com
Zen Salvador: www.zensalvador.com
Veil & Subdue – the Courtship of The Black Sultan: www.cdbaby.com/cd/paulramey
Graphic Design Portfolio: http://paulramey.carbonmade.com
Cemetery Photography Cards, Edgar Wilde Merchandise, etc.: www.zazzle.com/mementomorii

Pen and ink stipple Cards – Paul Ramey

Pen and ink stipple drawing – Paul Ramey

Paul’s Bio:

Paul Ramey is a writer, graphic artist, musician, and unrepentant cemetery buff. His most recent published works include his first novel, Edgar Wilde and the Lost Grimoire, a two-CD goth/rock musical album, Veil & Subdue – the Courtship of The Black Sultan, and Zen Salvador, a limited-edition book of zen-styled dog wisdom. Originally from Frankfort, Kentucky, Paul now lives in Jacksonville, Florida with his wife and child.

Painting – Paul Ramey

Creative Feature: Amanda Makepeace – Artist

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Two weeks ago I whetted your creative appetite with my first Creative Feature – here’s my next amazing artist.

Fly Fast – Amanda Makepeace

I first discovered Amanda Makepeace when digital art was something new to me, and my own attempts at digital art meant playing with pixels on Photoshop Elements! Amanda blew me away with her visions of space and science fiction landscapes. It’s been a pleasure to watch her work grow and she never fails to impress me. I have purchased Amanda’s work and been given permission to use her ‘Dragon’s Egg’ picture with my flash fiction story ‘Delicate Strength’. She’s an amazing Photographer with a regular monthly spot on The Shutterworks and she also blogs regularly at Téssera.

Amanda Makepeace – Artist

Amanda Makepeace – Digital and Traditional Artist

What inspires you?

If I’m honest, what doesn’t inspire me may be the better question. As a child I spent most of my time playing outside, wandering in the woods, creating imaginary worlds to play in with my friends and sometimes alone with my toys. My favorite movies from age 6 to 12 were The Black Stallion, The Neverending Story, Labyrinth, Star Wars and Alien. Nature, Magic, Fantasy and Science Fiction (with a dash of horror) can all be seen in my art from the last decade. Sometimes, things from every day life cast in a certain light will inspire me, sparking an idea that grows and spreads like frost on a window. My imagination does the job of inserting the magic.

Is your art planned or spontaneous? Can digital art be as spontaneous as other mediums, or does it require more planning?

I tend to believe nearly all art is planned. Ideas are spontaneous, but choosing colors, placement of figures, objects – a lot of thought goes into that aspect of art creation. This is especially true with narrative art, where one is trying to also tell a story. Even a still life is planned, whether it’s digital or traditional.

I put a lot of thought into my paintings. I will work on a sketch for a week, making sure I have a scene balanced before I begin painting. My ideas also tend to evolve. There can be many changes from that first spontaneous idea, to the sketches, and finally the painting stage.

On Distant Moons – one the first pieces that brought Amanda to my attention.

I know you work with many different mediums. Do you have a favourite medium, or favourite colours, or favourite techniques?

Once upon a time, I would have said watercolors were my favorite. In 2011 I began having some problem with my hands. I suffer from an autoimmune illness, an arthritis that attacks my joints began interfering with my ability to paint in traditional mediums. I’m not sure now what made me try digital painting. It might have been curiosity, but whatever it was, it turned out to be a blessing. Painting with a Wacom tablet is painless and it supercharged my creativity. Even if I could, I don’t think I’d give it up!

Fly Fast – Detail…those eyes…

What do you consider your best work to date – do you have a favourite piece?

This is a difficult question! I tend to fall in love with everything I paint, but there’s one that continues to standout. Fly Fast was painted last year and it still makes my heart smile. The full title is: Fly fast my friend. Go now. Do not wait for me.

It’s the story of a young woman sending her messenger owl off, with scores of other owls, as their village is attacked by a dragon. In the owl’s eyes you can see a reflection of the dragon. I think this painting will be a favorite for many years to come.

The Elder – Jackalope

I’ve loved your latest embellishments on your digital prints, what are your future plans with your art?

Keep learning. I am truly still in my infancy when it comes to digital painting and illustration. One of my goals for the latter half of this year is to focus on improving my human anatomy skills!

Dragon’s Egg

Lastly, if you could commission anything for yourself, money no object, what would it be?

I would love to see some of my paintings become sculptures. A bronze sculpture of the ravens from my painting Stone of Knowing, and the magic stone, for my backyard would be amazing!

You can find and purchase Amanda’s art on her website amandamakepeace.com and in her Etsy Shop. Take a look at her Facebook page to keep up to date.

Three pendants which delighted myself and my daughter at Christmas!

Amanda’s Bio:

I’ve always had an active imagination and a love of nature and the fantastic. My creative journey began in childhood, thinking up imaginary worlds in the suburbs of Maryland. Since those formative years I’ve lived in the southern burbs, moved abroad to London, England (later the Dorset coast), and now call rural Georgia home.

I’m continually inspired by nature, myth and fantasy–emphasis on nature. I love the outdoors and I have a strange (and to some infuriating) bond with animals. I’m also book lover and comic reader. I may also be mildly obsessed with all things Marvel. When I’m not creating you might find me wandering the woods or fields, taking photographs of very tiny wildflowers.

Stone of Knowing – Amanda Makepeace

Creative Feature: Angie Richmond – Artist

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I am a creative.

First and foremost, I write. I consider my writing art and have always enjoyed indulging in many other arts and crafts.

My daughter and I are soon to announce a creative venture of our own, but leading up to that I wanted to share some of my favourite Artists and Creatives. Many of them have their wares available to purchase and it’s a pleasure to be able to promote their work.

My first feature is Angie Richmond, a Vancouver based artist who creates one-of-a-kind mixed media collage, abstract watercolour and skyline doodle art. I have known and admired her for several years. Last Christmas I commissioned an individual piece from Angie and was incredibly happy with the beautiful result!
And look out for Angie’s special offer to readers…

Angie Richmond – Artist

Angie Richmond – Artist

What inspires you?

I really struggled with this question, which surprised me. When it comes to my art I find myself working at an intuitive level that doesn’t require a lot of thought. Which means that although I’m continually being inspired by things around me, I’m not always conscious of it.

But I can tell you that when I first started this journey there was one artist who did inspire me, Kelly Rae Roberts. Her work lead me to explore the world of mixed media collage. When I read her book Taking Flight I realized that everything I had been doing up until then wasn’t just fooling around. It was creating art. It inspired me to own the title Artist and take what I had been doing seriously. So I guess I owe her a lot. Maybe one day I’ll meet her and thank her in person.

Is your art planned or spontaneous?

Most of the time it’s a combination of both. I usually start with an idea but rarely do I stick to it exactly. I find that my best work is often the pieces that were completely unplanned. Even when I’m working with commissioned pieces there is still an element of spontaneity that I love.

My commission ‘Words of the Heart’

How do you like to work – do you have a favourite medium, or colours, or techniques?

As a mixed media collage artist, paper and acrylic paint are mediums that I find myself continually incorporating into my art. I like paper with lots of words, like old dictionary pages or even sheet music. The older the better. Speaking of old, I also love using vintage dress patterns and postage stamps.

I tend to use a lot of turquoise. Blue is my favourite colour so even though I might make a conscious decision to try other colours, somehow blue always creeps in. Which I’m totally okay with.

What do you consider your best work to date – do you have a favourite piece?

Ha! This question made me laugh because upon reflecting I realized that I’ve said ‘This is my favourite piece’ like a hundred times! So I guess I can’t pick one. Each of them are special.

I’ve watched your art diversify over the years – what are your future plans?

Good question. To be honest I’m not entirely sure. I’ve been doing some serious contemplation on venturing into the world of fiber art. I have a sewing machine set up now and I’m learning how to embroider. I’d also love to try pottery some day.

Lastly, if you could commission anything for yourself, money no object, what would it be?

Hmmm, let me see. I suppose I’d commission a piece of jewellery. Either a ring or a necklace. Something vintage looking with loads of meaning.

*** Angie is also being especially generous and is giving a fantastic special offer to all you lovely readers! Just use the code LISAFANS in Angie’s Etsy Shop for 50% off! ***

You can find Angie at angierichmond.com and at her Etsy shop. Follow her at @write_me_happy. Take a look and get inspired!

Thanks Angie, a lovely insight into your art!

The Future belongs to Those who Believe in the Beauty of their Dreams

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Eleanor Roosevelt had it exactly right…the future really does belong to those who believe in their dreams…

How many of us started out with huge dreams…the kind that stretched far, far beyond what we can see? How many of us played in the woods building forts and defending them from intruders and dragons, or by the ocean building sand castles and trenches? Were you so lost in books that you felt the Famous Five were your best friends? Did you skirt the local park with dark glasses searching for villains and opportunities to spy or use your magic super powers? Did you build Lego towns and fill them with adventure? Did you play ‘Pooh Sticks’ or race paper boats down the river? Did you draw fantastical pictures and wait at night for them to come alive? Were your stories so magical you slipped into them when you dreamed at night? Did you make mud pies and feed a family of dolls and teddy bears? Did you dream? Did you have dreams so strong you were sure you would achieve them?

I did…I knew exactly what I wanted as a child… I wanted to own horses, to spend my days galloping across mountains and valleys… I wanted to live by the ocean and swim in the sea every day… I wanted to write and see my stories published… I wanted to draw and paint and illustrate… Yes, I had dreams…

To be truthful, some were just childhood imaginings, fun, playtime. I was never going to live in the forest and defend my homestead from dragons…
I had ambition, as a child I wanted to write and draw, and I did, making books from A5 paper…I devoured Cicely Mary Barker’s ‘Flower Fairies’ and made up my own, stapling pages together and inventing rhymes to go with them. I bought tiny A6 notepads and wrote stories, lost in a world of my own. I drew, sitting on my bed with a sketch pad, my tongue protruding as I concentrated on my art, sketching for hours.

My dreams grew with aspirations and ideas as I got older, just as my art did. From the crude pencil drawings of a ten-year-old, to more sophistication at thirteen and more mature at nineteen. My dreams grew up…but not always in a good way. I became cynical and reserved in my dreams, trying to think of things that could actually happen, things that weren’t too lofty for me to achieve…and perhaps that’s just where I began to lose them…

I began to doubt myself, my ability and question the reality of the things I once wanted. Was I good enough to illustrate, or to write something that people, real people, would actually want to read? That doubt, along with the realities of life, leaving school, getting a job, getting married and having children, stopped me from pursuing those things I’d dreamed of all my childhood.

I don’t blame anyone, I just let life take over and my dreams faded like an old masterpiece hung on a wall that no one does more than glance at, left to saturate in the glare of every day sun.
I could have been more than the sum of what I am right now…that does make me sad…there is so much more I could have achieved. It was when I was thirty that I decided I could become more, that those old buried dreams deserved a second look. And I began to write.

Self-belief has taken a lot longer…however, slowly over the years those shattered dreams have come alive, my writing has fed my aspirations and words that I thought would never interest anyone have become the tool for rebuilding those dreams.

So, yes, it’s true I have never found myself dwelling in the woods defending my little wooden fort from all things evil, but those dragons I used to chase off in my imagination, now live on paper. I believe in them, I believe in me…and that’s where it all starts…the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams…I intend to believe in mine!

22 Things… Creative Change Challenge

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22 Things is a Creative Change Challenge. By signing up, you are announcing to the world – and more importantly yourself – that you are breaking free of the long standing idea that in order to make changes in your life, you have to do BIG things.22 Things is about making a list twenty-two small steps you can take – right now – to change your life.

This challenge is brought to you by Angie at Write Me Happy and I’m really pleased to be signing up!

So here are my 22 Things…

1. Write every day (find time, even if I’m busy!)
2. Be creative every day (even if it’s only a doodle…)
3. Catch up with my Journal (it’s just as important as blogging!)
4. Sketch (I’ve sketched my two girls, my son is waiting for his picture!)
5. Swim more (I used to swim every week, but an extended period of depression stopped me, get back to it!)
6. Stop saying “Just wait a minute…” when my children want to spend time with me…
7. Read more (I love my Kindle)
8. Scrapbook.
9. Repaint the lounge (Yes, it needs it…)
10. Update Christmas Scrapbooks.
11. Set a time to edit each day, even for only 20 or 30 mins…and stick to it!
12. Take the dog to the beach and feel free!
13. Tidy something in the home every day (I feel better when a shelf or a drawer is sorted, even if it doesn’t last long!)
14. Listen to music more.
15. Make something from my ‘craft’ inspiration board on Pinterest (I pinned them for a reason!)
16. Keep enjoying ‘Hot Chocolate Thursday’ (maybe blog about it!)
17. Storyboard and film ‘Beneath the Rainbow’ trailer…
18. Paint dragons! (you know you want to!)
19. Throw out clutter (that means the clutter in my head too!)
20. Share more of myself…
21. Be positive… (don’t let my demons get me…)
22. Eat more Chocolate (had to finish with something very attainable!)

So, all that’s left is to get to it!

Face Painting from Cute Rabbits to Gory Zombies…

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This could well be one of the faces that started it…
Bekah took on re-creating Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ character faces for her A-level work a year or so ago. See Here for Bekah’s Original Art Post She made us all up as character’s…even myself as the Queen of Hearts…no, don’t look! It turned into amazing exam work and took her off to art college.
Now art college wasn’t working…She was in college from 9am to 4pm, then working evenings from 5pm to 9pm and was struggling to complete homework etc. Things didn’t go well, and she had no time for her newly developed love of facepainting, so with our support she decided to leave college and concentrate on starting up her own business.
Work was financing the set up and she’s talented enough to pull it off! We’re so proud that she’s out there doing something she loves and attempting one of the hardest things…starting your own business.
She’s worked on advertising, business cards, and many, many faces…
Just recently she’s been working on special effect make up. Part of her A-Level had her make up her little sister as a zombie…and now the gory looks are expanding!
Bekah’s Facepainting Business page is: Masterpiece Face Painting Take a look… She’s had some strong interest is now planning faces for her first paying work…children’s parties…

Anyone want a tiger?

Or a little Monster?

There are cool sharks and spiders for the lads,

and unicorns and rainbows for the girls…

Gorgeous Swirls and Fairy Masks

Go extreme, be Darth Maul…

What about an evil clown…. *Shiver*

The Zombie…now we enter special effect make up…

So this is my youngest daughter after oldest daughter got hold of her…What can I say?

If you could be made up or painted what would you choose? Cute or pretty? Gory and disturbing? Traditional or something different?

What do you think?

Another Time, Another Place…Bekah’s Art

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Today we saw Bekah’s Art Exhibition at school…some of the work there was very impressive, and I am obviously biased that my daughter’s was pretty good too!

The first theme she worked on was Mental Health. She took photos depicting six areas of mental health: Depression, ADD, Anxiety, Tourettes, OCD and Insomnia. She then made a strait jacket, tea-dyed it and attached the photos. This became her installation in a black curtained room with an abstract video playing alongside:

Her second theme was ‘ Explore Another Time, Another Place’ and she began with retracing iconic ‘looks’ of the past century: She recreated their make up and portraits:

She then moved on to recreating the character theatrical looks for Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’:

Cait, Dan and I allowed Bekah to make us up as Alice, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts, she made herself up as the Knave.

She designed a pair of shoes to indicate ‘stepping into another time and place’, and decorated them with period jewellery, keys and watches to match the theme. The keys also showed being locked in another place…and this took her to nightmares and the ordeal Cait endured being made up as a Zombie:

There’s a funny story attached to the zombie look…Bekah completed the make up and she and Cait ran down the front garden steps to take photos on the road outside the house. They took the pictures and Cait overacted as a zombie would. It was only moments later when they noticed a bemused family sitting in a car behind ours watching the scene with astonished expressions! They were next door’s family visiting…didn’t expect a zombie invasion when they arrived! When they saw Cait, un-made-up the following day they commented with a smile that “she looked alot better, much more healthy!”

All images and content by Bekah Shambrook (& Lisa Shambrook) (Please do not reproduce without permission)

Her installation and display is to be photographed by the school and sent off to the examining board, as requested, as an example of A* work… so there we are.

I love art, I love painting, scrapbooking, sketching, photography and any other art, so I have loved watching Bekah’s talent develop and look forward to seeing so much more!