Potential — Erin Skovmand
Inspiration: As soon as I saw the post about the Penny Experiment, the flower in the center of the piece popped into my head. I grabbed a piece of matte board and started sketching. A week or so of wrestling with color combinations and trying to find the right penny later, the piece was done.
About the Art: I tried to model the format off of the dollar bill itself, and it was important to me that there was an element of balance because that’s what life (and the economy) requires. A penny can start a lifetime of hope and financial stability, and is severely underestimated in today’s world.
When I was in elementary school, I recall an aid telling me a story of a man who had a baby daughter, and began gathering pennies from the day that she was born: he bought her a car for her sixteenth birthday with all of the pennies that he’d saved up. Whether it was just a story, or something real, it still shows that one little penny can grow into something beautiful, just as this project has. It all starts with a penny.
The significance of the number: The number in my piece didn’t really shape it at all: as a matter of fact, I had a hard time figuring out where to include it (I think I ended up hiding it pretty well). However, I think that the number 67 describes me as an artist and a person, and that’s why I chose it.
When my dog and I won a (novelty) dog show a while back, our number was 67. When I was in eighth grade, I did some experimental writing and the page that riled everyone up was page 67. My best friend’s birthday is on June seventh. It’s a special number.
Materials: I drew the piece on matte board with number 2 Ticonderoga pencils and then colored it with Gallery colored pencils. I traced the outline of the penny and then built the piece from there. As for the color effect on the penny, I was trying to get an old penny to shine, and tested out silver polish on the old coin. It had started to work, but I stopped after seeing how beautiful the penny looked.
Size: 6 inches x 8 inches
About the Artist: Erin Skovmand is seventeen, lives in San Diego, California, and she’s currently enjoying high school while it lasts (because it’s about to be over).
If you would like to view more of Erin’s artwork, you can at her deviant art page ~2lbox. You can also find Erin on Facebook.
Price: This piece is not currently for sale: There are great reasons to purchase Penny Experiment art. If you would like to purchase Potential #67 or other artwork from this 100 Penny Postcard Art series, please email me and I will put you on my list to inform when this series is for sale.
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