Recently, I was going through my files and rereading old correspondences. I found a letter from William Rose, the winner of
a previous Drawing magazine cover competition. The events that came out
of his winning the competition and having his work on the cover of the
magazine (and, therefore, on newsstands all over the country) speaks to
how focusing on charcoal drawing, sketching, and pencil drawing, and putting your work in a
public venue can give your artwork incredible visibility, with exciting
results.
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Rossina's Apple by William Rose,
2007, charcoal on museum board, 28 x 20. |
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Below you'll find part of Rose's letter describing his success. By the
way, the film featuring Rose's work is Carmel-by-the-Sea. Bravo, Bill!
From: William Rose
Subject: Cover Winner Feedback
Hi...I was the winner of the Drawing magazine cover last year (for
Rossina's Apple) and wanted to relay briefly what occurred shortly
after the publication.
I was contacted by a film director in Carmel, California, about a
project he was working on with the Eastwoods (Clint and his wife,
Dina). He was beginning pre-production of a film about a teenage art
prodigy who gets involved in international forgery, and they were
looking for an artist to work on the film. They spotted Drawing
magazine with my cover at a local bookstore, and after visiting my
website they apparently determined my charcoal work was exactly what
they were looking for.
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On the Fence Line
by William Rose,
2007, charcoal on Mylar, 38 x 28. |
So here I am—an artist from Prairie Village, Kansas, having only
inadvertently stumbled across a talent for drawing a few years
ago—getting a request to come out to Carmel for three months and
produce all of the artwork that appears in the film as the work of the
kid prodigy. As you might imagine, it was quite a surreal experience. In addition to producing all of the artwork—which included dozens of
drawings, a few paintings, and a 16'-x-12' figurative mural on a
hotel-room ceiling—they asked me to be the on-set still photographer
for the entire shoot and put me up in a multimillion dollar home in
Pebble Beach. The movie stars Lauren Bacall, Alfred Molina, Josh
Hutcherson (as the teenage prodigy), Hayden Panettiere, as well as
Clint's wife, Dina, and his son, Scott.
Since the filming, my career has really shot off the
ground with numerous shows in and around the Kansas City area and my
work being represented in multiple galleries. Needless to say, I owe
all of this to entering and winning your cover competition. There is
no way I can begin to express my gratitude to you for providing the
exceptional opportunities with your publications to artists like myself
who scratch and claw to find ways to gain a little recognition in a
world filled with outstanding artists.
All my best,
Bill
William Rose was given an exceptional opportunity in the wake of having his skills with drawing discovered. The aspect of this whole story that I find so inspiring is that Bill only started focusing on his drawing abilities relatively recently. To know that with each pencil drawing I do, as I sharpen my skills and make strides of improvement, I'm walking a very similar path to his is exciting, and I hope you feel the same way when it comes to your drawing abilities. They can give you so much reward that all aspects of your art will benefit from! So please do check out all the great drawing resources available right now on sale at the
North Light Shop. Enjoy!
