A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away lived a crazy girl on the planet 'Earth'.... YUP that's me! My name is Ashley, but you may call me Ashe. 

When I was around the age of 10, my brother, Christopher, brought one of his friends home to visit; his name was also Chris.  Non-brother Chris set up a game system on our TV.  At the time, I was ecstatic to see what kind of games there were.  He hooked up this so-called Dreamcast and placed a CD in it that was called, 'Sonic the Hedgehog'.  I had heard of it before and had played mini games on the PC regarding Sonic, but this game was overwhelming!  I loved it and loved watching my brother and his friend play. 

It was a hot summer day when the boys were huddled by the TV, absorbed in playing this game.  As they played and I watched, I, too, wanted to do something.  So I asked my grandmother for a piece of paper and some colored pencils.  I can still remember to this day drawing my first ever Sonic the Hedgehog picture.  And this, my friend, is how I entered into the art world.  I loved drawing Sonic so much that I wanted to explore different picture ideas, as well.  I drew all the characters from Sonic to Balto characters, then to other animals such as horses, cats, and birds.  I didn't start drawing people until a year or two later.

As I progressed in my drawing, I was happy in my 'bubble of art'.  I drew what I wanted, usually when I wanted.  Around the age of 12 my art didn't seem to progress much at all.  Then, one September day my grandparents, Chris, and I went to a Christian book store to find some school curricula.  While my grandmother was looking through some math books, I went to the art section and wanted to see if they had any art books.  I looked at some, most of which were biblical; however, one book stood out more than the others.  It was about 'How to Draw Horses'.  I skimmed through it and knew right away I wanted to have this book.  (And this is coming from someone who very much hated to read anything.)

I went to my grandmother, handed her the book, and asked if I could have it.  She was a little hesitant at first, but in the end agreed to get it.  I was very excited to have my very own art book!  A few days later I re-opened the book for the umpteenth time and tried to copy one of the horses; it was a foal jumping.  "I kid you not - I didn't trace this", I said, when I showed it to my grandmother.  She looked at it, squinted her eyes, and jokingly said, "You traced that didn't you?"  I gave her a huge smile back and had a glimmer in my eye as I emphatically responded, "NOPE!"  With an eyebrow raised, she looked closer to see the mistakes I had made but was extremely proud of my drawing.  After that day, every day I got better and better and better.  Not even a year later, just before my 13th birthday, I sold my first drawing of a horse to a good friend.  Looking back at the picture now, it was pretty bad; but it was better then when I first started drawing.

Around that same time, my family and I went to Disneyland in California.  There, we had a great time on the rides.  When we got home from Disneyland my grandmother looked closer at the tickets and saw that we could go back to the park another day for Free; however, it expired the next day, so we rushed over to Disneyland once again but this time went to the 'California Adventure Land' section of the park. It was there that I met David Zack.  David Zack was an artist for the famous 'Brother Bear' movie and he and I talked while I drew a clumsy Spirit picture.  He saw the potential I had with my art and gave my grandparents some great tips; and then offered to give me a full Scholarship to the Disney Collage.  We thanked him, but sadly turned it down due to my age.  But in the end it worked out for the best, anyway. 

And this is how the Lord started me on my journey to becoming an artist! 

Fifteen years have gone by and I am now in my late 20's.  Well, I have continued to improve in drawing and painting and have even added digital art to my experience; however, I know there is so much more to learn.  Every day as I wake up, I look forward to going to my PC, or picking up my damp paintbrush, and learn how to do things through trial and error.  I also want to thank you all so much for being a part of this crazy adventure of mine.  I could not have gotten this far without the support of my grandparents and the people who encourage me and cherish my art!

Until the next time,
Ashe