Artist Anita Hochdorf Creates Amazing Art with a Simple Medium

Some artists just blow your entire creative thought processes out of the water. They make amazing creations with simple mediums, and intricate designs that leave you breathless. Anita Hochdorf is an artist and photographer of incomparable skill, who uses a medium familiar to artists and non-artists alike.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Anita for nearly seventeen years. We met at the Memphis School of Preaching where her husband and mine were attending school at the time. Even then her artwork stood out, and her creativity was unparalleled when it came to making visual aids for classroom use. In fact, her creativity and natural talent was part of the reason I came to love art and eventually tried my own hand at drawing and painting.

Recently, I saw a post she had made on Facebook facebook.com. She was working on something she called "The Clock Project." It was beautiful, so I wrote asking her what medium she had used. I had expected that she would reply that she was working in watercolor. After all, it appeared that the work was simply done with the stroke of a brush. Not so. Her reply came as a shock to me. She was working with a Sharpie® on canvas material.

Immediately I wrote back asking her to explain her process. There had to be some trick to make such beautiful works with a permanent marker; however, there were no tricks, just good techniques. Anita replied, "I wish I [had] something impressive to tell you about the process, but it is simply layering, shading and [a] combination of different colors on canvas fabric." It is the fabric's natural weave that gives this particular art form its watercolor look. I asked if she would mind if I shared her artworks and process, and she didn't mind at all. Anita's works can be found and purchased on Outlaw and Princess Photography.

Faux Watercolor Drawing
Materials:
Cardboard
Ruler
Pencil
Scissors
Canvas fabric
Masking tape
Various colored permanent markers
Inspirational image

Determine what size you want your artwork to be. Cut a piece of cardboard to fit those measurements, and then cut the canvas about one-inch larger than the cardboard.

Lay the canvas right side facing down, and then place the cardboard cut out on top of the canvas. Carefully lap the edges of the fabric over the cardboard, and tape them into place.

Select an image that you would like to reproduce. I always try to pick something simple the first time I try a new art project.

Draw the basic outline of your artwork.

Shade the images. Start with the darker colors and add the lighter ones. This will give the artwork a feeling of depth and create a cohesive work.

The background can be either colored in or left blank depending on your preference.