User:Grungehobbit/sandbox



Sparks aka Grunge Hobbit born in1957, lives in a mall mountain town in California by the name of Tehachapi. She began painting late in her life in May of 2009. Says the artist, “From the first moment I brushed paint to canvas, I was captivated by both the process and the results of converting my feelings into something tangible and visually compelling”. In her first year of painting, Sparks embarked on an intense and prolific period of self-education and experimentation, producing over 300 canvases using many different mediums including oil, acrylic and pastels. Some of her favorite paintings are created using techniques that cede some of the control to the medium — using alcohol, canned air, or simply tilting the canvas and and letting the paint go where it will. Others of her favorites involve very deliberate techniques that create interesting textures with fingers, palette knife, body parts, sand from her backyard, etc.

Sparks enjoys painting using all different kinds of techniques and styles from the very detailed to the minimal abstract. Although, there is one style that makes the Grunge Hobbit very unique as an artist. Her use of alcohol in her paintings. Not only does she use alcohol for backgrounds, she creates objects and subject matter with alcohol as well. It’s rare to see the artist painting without a shot glass filled with tequila, scotch or some other booze near by. She discribes painting as her only healthy addiction, a craving that will never be satisfied fully. There is no choice for me, I must paint”.