CHARLENE RALPH

In the beginning...

I have been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. It is as natural to me as swimming is to a fish or as flying is to a bird.  When I was in grade school I was always doodling on my folders, drawing cartoon characters and cartoony kind of muscle guys.  I loved the look of  super hero images such as Batman and Superman. My favorite character is Wolverine from Marvel comics X-Men. I created an oil painting of him that you can look at  in the Gallery. 

The Bodybuilding Bug Bites...

I picked up my first muscle magazine around 1980, because I wanted to draw bodybuilders and make my drawings as photo realistic as possible. The one I am proudest of, so far, is a drawing of  Nasser El Sonbaty which is in the Gallery. I also had an interest in weight training and wanted to learn how to train. I have been training since then, and have learned that the most important thing in bodybuilding is long term consistency. I have only been consistently doing the right things for about a year and have recently made some of my heaviest lifts. When I started training, my arms were 10 inches around and now they are almost 13, but most of that progress has been in about the last year or so. Even though I don't look much like a bodybuilder, I feel like one and train like a maniac.

Into the Future...

Up until recently, I have only done artwork as a hobby, but now I mean business. My intent is to continue perfecting my abilities as I render pencil drawings  of huge, ripped and vascular bodybuilders. These will then be reproduced into limited edition art prints. As you can see on the Art Prints page I currently have two editions of prints available. The next drawing I will reproduce is likely to be the one you see on the Home page.

A branch from the family tree...

A bit more about me: I am 48 years old (as of April, 2009) and have been married for 21 years. For the last 18 years I have spent most of my time raising my daughter. I have a twin sister and a brother who is six years older. My mom is 75 and began weight training about four years ago. She sings in the church choir and does a fair amount of baking, most of which is rich dessert items.

I am a born-again Christian, wholly committed to living my life according to what the Bible teaches. I regularly attend a church and do artwork and illustrations for the vacation bible school program and the youth group. For much more on me and what I believe, visit my home website, www.xaltgraphix.com and go to the "Artist Profile" page.

Feel free to contact me with questions or comments or to commission me for artwork.