After three years of programming software by day and painting imagined realms by night — an activity she'd begun as a child — Law committed herself to her art full-time almost ten years ago. Her illustrations have appeared in various games and books through publishers Wizards of the Coast and HarperCollins, among others, and she has also designed her own deck of tarot cards. She is also the author of technique two DREAMSCAPES books on watercolor for fantasy. The artist currently lives in California, where she earned her double bachelor of arts degree in fine arts and computer science at Berkeley.
Most of my finished work is inspired by stories and mythology. But I also frequently am inspired by the motion of dance — I've been a flamenco dancer for fifteen years — and nature. The winding branches of live oaks often make their way into my sketches, and not just as literal trees. The sinuous curves lend an aesthetic that melds into my compositions and human figures. Sometimes I have a concept in words in my head of what I want, but I don't know how exactly to visualize it. It might be an interesting phrase that strikes my fancy or a line of poetry. I'll start exploring ways to approach the concept in a series of sketches.
Sometimes I enjoy sketching just for its own sake and working on site from live scenes. For these in particular I try to capture motion and action as the world moves around me. These feel more like pieces for a visual journal, and because I don't intend to paint these sketches, they have a more raw and immediate feel.
When journal-sketching I like to work with pen and ink, as it forces me to commit to the lines and each mark that I make so that they all have meaning, rather than aimless scratching. I have several different sketchbooks, all of them about 6" × 6" (15cm × 15cm). They're easily carried with me in my purse whenever I'm out and about. One sketchbook is plain white paper, and several others are various shades of brown. When working on a neutral tone, I use ink and a white gel pen, as well as some light gray markers, and I can work in both darks and highlights since the paper is a nice in-between color.
Sketching from life gives me a chance to pause and observe the world around me for a bit, and not get caught up by only what is in my head. I think that all artists need to remind themselves of the basis for their art, even if the focus of their work is in the fantastic or imagined realms.
I particularly enjoy sketching when I am traveling and on vacations. Being able to record my experiences in drawings helps me to enjoy the excursions all the more, and looking for opportunities to frame some visual experience into an image lets me appreciate things visually that I might otherwise overlook.
Sketching lets me appreciate hidden beauty in the world and sharpens my observational skills. Anything that I see can be inspiration for a sketch, and so whenever something interesting catches my eye, if I don't have pencil and paper handy, my mind is making a mental photograph. I remember the lines and curves and colors; the way light comes streaming through some leaves; the curve of an egret's neck contrasting with its angular stilt legs as it stalks through the rushes of nearby Lake Merritt; the flourish and motion of a dancer's arms as I watch a rehearsal for a show.
Occasionally the sketches that I do in my journal make their way into becoming finished paintings, though this is more rare. I don't sketch them with a painting in mind. They're more of just momentary snapshots, but sometimes they end up being my favorite finished paintings of all.
When journal-sketching I like to work with pen and ink, as it forces me to commit to the lines and each mark that I make so that they all have meaning, rather than aimless scratching.
