Beneath the Tumtum Tree from www.candicebroersma.com
"Let me tell you of the days of high adventure..."
...This invitation beckons from the portfolio of the Kevin Workman Foundation's 2016 Sponsored Artist, Candice Broersma. Selected from a highly skilled field of candidates, Candice will receive an opportunity to exhibit her work, promote, and network at San Diego Comic Con. This year's application process brought us a much larger pool of artists, all at a much higher level of accomplishment, sophistication, and talent than previous years. Candice should be proud of her selection from such a competitive range; we at KWF are thrilled to promote and sponsor such a skilled and creative illustrator, musician, and art instructor.
Take a walk with us through fantastic worlds seen through Candice's eye, where her unique vision of beauty, mystery, and quirkiness rekindles the same sense of child-like wonder we might remember from watching clouds march lazily across the sky on the first afternoon of summer vacation.
...This invitation beckons from the portfolio of the Kevin Workman Foundation's 2016 Sponsored Artist, Candice Broersma. Selected from a highly skilled field of candidates, Candice will receive an opportunity to exhibit her work, promote, and network at San Diego Comic Con. This year's application process brought us a much larger pool of artists, all at a much higher level of accomplishment, sophistication, and talent than previous years. Candice should be proud of her selection from such a competitive range; we at KWF are thrilled to promote and sponsor such a skilled and creative illustrator, musician, and art instructor.
Take a walk with us through fantastic worlds seen through Candice's eye, where her unique vision of beauty, mystery, and quirkiness rekindles the same sense of child-like wonder we might remember from watching clouds march lazily across the sky on the first afternoon of summer vacation.
Out of the Silent Planet from www.candicebroersma.com
Candice has memories of drawing from before she started kindergarten, and a devotion to creative arts that's apparent in her hard work through years of private lessons, music and art at Redlands University, and follow-on studies at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her voice and vision are clear and apparent in the unique look and feel of her portfolio, a clarity rare for an art professional so early in their career. The practical side of Candice's career is similarly driven; She's recently attended an art business bootcamp and has diversified into art instruction and numerous side projects including Triptych, an intersection of art, music, and writing in collaboration with two fellow artists.
Candice, an accomplished clarinet player, tells us that that her music and illustration draw from a common pool of creative energy. We see that in the subtle narratives woven into her works the same as we might expect to hear in the melody of a well-written piece of music. "I have an unconventional sense of beauty," remarks Candice, and we're happy about that, because this takes her work off the beaten path of fantasy tropes and into a delightfully surreal wilderness populated by majestic beasts, masked aspirants, stylish arthropods, and vorpal warriors, with nary a licensed comic book or intellectually propertied movie character to be found.
Candice, an accomplished clarinet player, tells us that that her music and illustration draw from a common pool of creative energy. We see that in the subtle narratives woven into her works the same as we might expect to hear in the melody of a well-written piece of music. "I have an unconventional sense of beauty," remarks Candice, and we're happy about that, because this takes her work off the beaten path of fantasy tropes and into a delightfully surreal wilderness populated by majestic beasts, masked aspirants, stylish arthropods, and vorpal warriors, with nary a licensed comic book or intellectually propertied movie character to be found.
Descendants of Twilight from Candice's work on Triptych
We had a great time listening to Candice describe her multi-faceted creative process. She alternates between traditional and digital media with aplomb, harnessing the strengths of each with an intuitiveness that speaks of practice, practice, practice. In the body of her portfolio work, we see her experimenting successfully with photo studies, mixed media, and sculpture as vehicles to carry her creative vision forward. Her discussion of the process behind In the Kelp Forest, and of how and why she chose to transition from a digital start to a traditional finish for this work, is particularly insightful and well worth a read. (Candice also works with self-portraits as photo studies for her work, we encourage you to ask her to do a re-enactment of her Chameleon Face when you visit her at the KWF booth).
Listen to Candice talk about her art for any amount of time and you'll realize that she has an ability to simultaneously take us on an adventure into magical worlds while teaching us the practical aspects of their creation. And this bilingual fluency-- in the languages of both artist and a teacher-- is where we saw Candice as truly special, and where we became really excited at the prospect of seeing her interact with thousands of fans on the Con exhibitor's floor.
Listen to Candice talk about her art for any amount of time and you'll realize that she has an ability to simultaneously take us on an adventure into magical worlds while teaching us the practical aspects of their creation. And this bilingual fluency-- in the languages of both artist and a teacher-- is where we saw Candice as truly special, and where we became really excited at the prospect of seeing her interact with thousands of fans on the Con exhibitor's floor.
So stop by the KWF booth at Con this year, take a look at what Candice has on display, tell her how her work inspires you, or ask her how she was inspired to create it. Or ask her about her love of carnivorous plants. Either way: Prepare to hear a tale of adventure.
A Dance with Death from Candice's work on Triptych
Candice's online body of work can be found here:
www.candicebroersma.com, her portfolio and blog;
and Triptych, her multimedia creative collaboration with a writer and a musician.
www.candicebroersma.com, her portfolio and blog;
and Triptych, her multimedia creative collaboration with a writer and a musician.