Starving Artist Forum

Ok, you may be thinking I've gone completely Country with all these famous Country artist sketches, but I'm just attempting to sketch most of the performers at this month's Show-Me Music & arts Festival here in Springfield, MO.

My latest sketch honors Joe Nichols. I just love his messy hair. I bet it takes a lot of time and energy to look that perfectly disheveled!

I'm very excited to see some of these greats live. I know many of you are also, so I'm sharing my sketches on my blog and making them available to purchase at the music fest exclusively from Kel's Custom Designs. Look for her jewelry booth at the event and pick up your favorite sketch.

I'm even offering my actual original sketches, which I seldom release to the public. Tell Kelly Belle sent you!

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I would be remiss to sketch the hunky Country male singers and leave out some of country music's rising stars of the female persuasion. So for your viewing pleasure the first two ladies I have recently sketched in B&W are Kellie Pickler and Gretchen Wilson.

Kellie is most known for finishing sixth on American Idol's fifth season. Gretchen is most known for "Redneck Woman" but has had 5 top ten singles so far. Both are top selling artists and gorgeous gals! So here is my nod to these amazing women. Keep up the good work ladies!

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My latest request took me to the Vampire theme of forbidden love once again. For your viewing pleasure, my take on Damon Salvatore of the Vampire Diaries as portrayed by Ian Joseph Somerhalder. This hit CW series is based on the L.J. Smith book series and is currently still captivating viewers of all ages.

My favorite male Country recording Artist is Trace Adkins. The recently crowned American Idol has captured millions of hearts with his low baritone voice, but my favorite booming voice has always been Trace's.

He seems like a good 'ole boy with country character. Maybe that's why he has sold so many records!

Prints of my latest ink sketch will be made available soon.

Have I inked in your favorite yet?

My newest Country Artist to sketch is Matt Kennon. I like to know my subject to get more details, and you might be surprised to know that Matt is adopted at birth. To get this as dark as possible I experimented with permanent ink. I had several sizes in my hand and loved the way it turned out!

OK, so not exactly what you may be thinking...

I'm not getting a tattoo of Tim McGraw, this is my latest sketch.

I wanted the contrast more severe, so I did the entire sketch with ink! No pencil lines and no smudging! The result was very crisp. What do you think?

Originally I wanted to complete a series of celebrity sketches in my sketch book and try to get them autographed, but this one was done on a separate sheet and will be made available in several sizes. Which do you think will be the most popular?