Art As An Adventure
I have a spirit of adventure in many areas of my life, but drawing and painting aren’t among them. I appreciate art and am very fortunate to have family members who can create beautiful and meaningful pictures for us to enjoy!
“The secret to so many artists living so long is that every painting is a new adventure. So, you see, they’re always looking ahead to something new and exciting. The secret is not to look back.”
Norman Rockwell
Terrapin’s Logo
When we purchased our Westsail 32 and re-named her Terrapin, we asked Tony’s dad (artist designer by career) if he would draw us a sea turtle for the graphic decal on our boat. We love the smile it brings us and others wherever we go. Our happy turtle rides on the bow of our boat where dolphins sometimes join her for a ride in our wake.
Why The Boat Name Terrapin?
Turtles and Westsails
To start preparing for retirement and our “big sailing trip”, we decided on a Westsail 32. It is known as a seaworthy boat; slow and steady we’ll get to our destination. A terrapin is a sea turtle, not the fastest aquatic animal, but it can cover a great distance and get where it wants to go.
In addition to the literal comparison of turtle to sailboat, we also liked the metaphor of perseverance through our seasons of life. The turtle in The Tortoise And The Hare is a reminder to us to keep on going towards our hopes and dreams and not give up when we face difficulties or opposition. We’ve experienced our share of challenges, on and off the water, but if we keep moving in the right direction we know we’ll eventually we’ll reach our goals.
Artwork By Grandchildren
My father-in-law, Ed Pehoski, isn’t the only artist in the family. Throughout the years, our grandchildren know our love for the water and have been drawing sailboats on our hand-made birthday cards, our chalkboard and sidewalks, and more recently on our retirement cards.
Digital Drawing
Some of our grandchildren also are expanding their medium to include digital drawing. Once when I was admiring some of Haylee’s artwork on her phone, I mentioned how I would love a digital drawing of Terrapin. She took the hint!
Artist Interviews
Want to learn more about the artists, young and old, behind two of our special drawings of Terrapin? I thought so! I sent interview questions to gather more detail about their passion for art as a hobby and as a career. Thanks to our grandson Travis for conducting the interview with Haylee and thanks to my sister-in-law Tami for conducting the interview with Ed.
Interview with Ed Pehoski, age 93
Tell us about creating Terrapin
“I wasn’t sure I would be able to create the drawing because I was 91 years old at the time and hadn’t drawn for quite a while. My inspiration for the Terrapin decal was based on some pictures of sea turtles. I decided to use simple lines because I knew the drawing was to be used as a decal applied to both sides of the bow of Tony & Julie’s sailboat. It was my last piece of art.”
When did you first start drawing?
“In gradeschool, I loved comic strips so I drew my own comics.”
How did you know you wanted to pursue art as a career?
“After graduating from high school, I attended vocational school to learn mechanical drafting and then I joined the navy. I worked on a mine sweeper as an electrician. I started drawing pictures on the letters I was sending home and that is when I knew that art was my passion, not mechanical drafting. It was at that time that I decided to attend art school after the war.”
What were some artists you admired or that inspired you?
“Norman Rockwell and Picasso, I know it is a wide range of art, but I like those two.”
What tools do you find indispensable for creating your artwork?
“Paint and paintbrushes, I prefer acrylic paint, not oil paints, pencils and charcoal, Oh and don’t forget paper and canvas too.”
Can you share a story or two from your career as an artist?
“I worked at Custom Display for much of my career and later began working out of my studio at home, with Custom Display as my primary client.”
“Some of my projects involved painting murals that were going to be used at business conventions. I would paint the different panels and the carpenters would assemble and install the murals at the conventions.”
“For one project, I was asked to travel to a communication center in California and stand up and present my thoughts about my artwork. That was something I hadn’t done before. My time in California led to a lasting friendship with the president of the company.”
“That communication center helped many national phone companies update their stores and inventory and I assisted with the displays. They were all upgrading to use more modern, decorator phones, not the ugly, black dial instruments.”
“I had a really good job!”
What is a memory from sailing with us?
What is your advice for young artists; whether using art as a hobby or those pursuing art as a career?
“Hand drawing and painting is great as a hobby, go to art shows, maybe sell artwork as a side career, but it is hard to make a living as an artist as a career choice.”
“When I retired, the new hires were graphic artists using computers and they were taking over the traditional, hand drawing artists.”
What’s your favorite part of being an artist?
“Creating something beautiful!”
Interview With Haylee Pehoski, age 15
Tell us about creating Terrapin
“I always love drawing things for people, so I was happy to draw something for my grandma’s blog. I also liked the idea of drawing something I haven’t taken on before (I.e. an animal or boat). The idea of a half boat, half turtle popped into my head while I was brainstorming, so I decided to sketch it up and it became a pretty cool design.”
“I first approached it ambitiously using the style of art found on printed money, but I switched styles after being inspired by tattoo art. I did research on what kinds of shades and colors tattoo artist use. Looking at references to figure out what kind of color and line art style I should use was probably my favorite part of the process.”
What is a favorite memory from a sailing trip with us?
“Probably during our lake Michigan trips when us kids would go up on the bow and dangle our feet off the edge and get splashed when we hit waves at a certain angle. I also liked when we went to the sand dunes because it felt like a dessert since we were surrounded by sand, but we could just walk in a certain direction and eventually BOOM! We could see the boat anchored off shore.”
When did you start drawing digital artwork?
“About 3 years ago. I started on Sketch (a drawing/social media app) and got more into it because a friend from school also drew digitally. I drew Terrapin using the app ibis paint.”
What tools do you find indispensable for creating your artwork?
“Reference pictures are often a must-have for me; whether it be through a book, the internet, or actual photos. A hard-working attitude is also important. Sometimes you have to just muscle through a certain drawing or part of a drawing that you don’t feel like working on in order to get a good end result.”
What is another one of your hobbies?
“I used to dance A LOT, and recently I got into my school’s dance team, but I really enjoy most any fun and physical challenges such as dancing, rock climbing, playing with my dogs, etc.”
What are some artists you admire or that inspire you?
“All of my friends who do art are a huge inspiration. Seeing someone else’s art usually gets my creative juices flowing.”
Do you prefer to draw using traditional paper & pencils or digital and why?
“I don’t prefer one or the other. They both have benefits in different circumstances. I like that when I get bored with one method, I can just switch to the other for a while.”
What is your advice for others thinking of giving digital drawing a try?
“You might not be the best at it right away, but keep trying, look up tutorials, and keep your head up. Keep in mind there are a lot of different mediums of digital art (phone, tablet, drawing tablet, apps, tools). Do your research on how you’re going to draw digitally and try to experiment with what medium best fits you.”
What’s your favorite part of being an artist?
“I get to put my imagination out into the world and share it with others, I think that’s pretty cool.”
“Drawing is also a great pastime.”
As always, beautifully written!
As always, thanks for your support and encouragement!
Enjoyed reading Ed and Haylee’s personal and reflective interviews. They provided an insight to their passion for art. We are so grateful that both artists share their creative and imaginative talents with others through their art drawings!