Local Artist Participating in Aurora Alley Art Festival

Desireé Franklin would consider herself a self-taught artist.

The Oswego resident took a few art classes at her high school, Aurora West, where she said she learned how to shade. But the rest of her skills, which she’ll be featuring and selling at the Aurora Alley Art Festival, she learned on her own.

Franklin described her art a mixture of traditional and digital. She first does a pencil sketch and then takes a photograph and puts it on her computer. Using various photo editing programs she adds color. The end result has an almost watercolor look to it.

Originally Franklin just used to use pencils and traditional media for the color, but said she didn’t care for colored pencils or chalks. “I found them very boring and repetitive,” she said. “There had to be an easier way to do it.”

One of the programs she uses called Xiu Xiu – a program all in Chinese. Franklin said though the language barrier doesn’t bother her, as the program is rather self-explanatory to her.

For her subject matter, Franklin said she’s been focusing on sea life. “Right now I really, really like jelly fish. I draw a lot of other sea creatures too,” she said.

She said she is also inspired by Japanese culture, especially some music groups.

Most of what will be for sale at the art fair though will be prints of sea creatures.

The Alley Art Festival is taking place on Saturday, August 25 from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Water Street Mall in downtown Aurora.

There are about 60 artists, selling things from handcrafted masquerade masks to hair pins to custom miniature totem poles.

Free music will be provided throughout the event, with Greg Boerner playing at 12:00 p.m., Jeremy Keen at 1:00 p.m. and Uncle Cracker Barrel at 4:00 p.m. The event is free and all art and crafts are for sale.

This is one of Franklin’s first art fairs and she said she’s really excited to be a part of it. “I’m just really looking forward to meeting different artists and getting my art out there.”

Franklin says she also makes costumes, and will be wearing one at her table all day.

“I’ll be the one in the beautiful jellyfish costume waving at you,” she said with a laugh.