meet challenge member: Richelle Sanders

Richelle Sanders

1. Your name, location
Richelle Sanders (nee Eaton) – Canberra, Australia

Week 19 2015: EAT by Richelle Sanders

2. Describe your family
I moved to Canberra from Toowoomba Queensland with my parents and sister as a child in the early 70’s and have lived here ever since.  I have 2 wonderful adult children, a son and a daughter; both are married with amazing partners and I also have 1 simply adorable 3 year old grandson.  My daughter has inherited my artistic flare but also is an amazing baker.  She has recently started her own baking challenge on FB and got the name idea from our challenge, it is called 52 Week Cupcake Challenge where each week she bakes a different flavoured cupcake…this week’s flavour  was called ‘The Elvis’ inspired by Elvis’s love of eating fried banana and peanut butter sandwiches.  It was a banana cupcake with peanut butter frosting, peanut brittle and banana chips all drizzled with chocolate…yummm…but I digress, back to me …

Week 20 2015: MELANCHOLY by Richelle Sanders

3. Describe your work
I work full time in an IT area for an Australian Government agency.  My work is quite dull and blah and stifles my creativeness but it pays the bills and keeps my art supplies well stocked.  I can’t wait to get home each day and continue with whatever art project I have on the go at the time.

Week 15 2015 VIETNAM  by Richelle Sanders

4. What is your career goal?
To retire and be a full time artist!

Week 5 2015: KITCHEN by Richelle Sanders

5. Describe your art background
I am self-taught and started drawing from the time I could hold a pencil. I studied art at school but was only really interested in the practical side and so my art history studies suffered.  After a hiatus of 20 years or so, I picked up my pencils again.  It was during the January 2011 floods of South East Queensland.  I had a pinched nerve in my lower back at the time and found myself bed ridden for a couple of weeks.  As I was born in Toowoomba and lived in the Lockyer Valley area I was mortified by the destruction and devastation I was witnessing on the rolling TV coverage, I needed an escape so I dug out my pencils and began drawing again…and so began my current art journey.

My passion is for portraiture and from time to time I am commissioned…you will notice that a large number of my challenge entries include a portrait of some description.

Week 42 2015: Black and White - chosen for Challenge Exhibition

6. What do you love about the Challenge? What have you learned?
I joined the challenge in Week 3 of 2014.  Most of my work last year was digital finger painting using the Paper 53 app.  From the moment I joined in I felt the love and support of the group. The thing I love most would have to be the fellowship and the positive feedback and encouragement the members give each other.  I enjoy seeing what the other members create each week, there are so many talented members, and I love that the kids also get involved.  I am inspired each week to create something new and sometimes more than one.

The challenge has contributed to the development of my skills for my regained love of drawing and painting. As I am a natural drawer I primarily use pastels or pencils of one sort or another, the challenge and its members have given me the courage to venture into using other medium, some of which I have NOT yet mastered :-)  I tend to go through phases of favourite mediums and am currently in a black water colour phase.

I feel immensely privileged that one of my pieces from last year’s challenge, Week 42: Black and White, was chosen to be included in the Challenge's Art Brookfield exhibition this year and my Grandson and I had the pleasure of meeting the challenge founder Tania at her book launch earlier this year... I have also re-connected with old school friends through the challenge...thank you everyone for making the challenge so worthwhile.

Richelle with Tania McCartney at the book launch of "This is Captain Cook"

7. What is your favourite illustration you have done for the challenge so far?
hmmm that's a hard one, if the question was, what is your least favourite that would be easier to answer…however my favourite so far would be Week 34 Japan with Week 5: Kitchen and Week 20: Melancholy coming in a close 2nd and 3rd.

Week 34 2015: JAPAN by Richelle Sanders

8. Tell us something that we don’t know about you
ummm there are lots of things, none of which are very interesting...I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.