Winterfest Interview with Sandy "Chandler" Shelton
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Winterfest Interview with Sandy "Chandler" Shelton |
| Interviewer: | Winterfest |
| Interviewee: | Sandy Chandler Shelton |
| Date(s): | 2006 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | Beauty and the Beast |
| External Links: | Winterfest Interview with Sandy "Chandler" Shelton, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
In 2006, Sandy Chandler Shelton was interviewed for Winterfest.
See Winterfest Interview Series.
Some Excerpts
I loved Beauty and the Beast from the first time I watched it. It had always been my favorite Fairy Tale in all versions, but the TV show was so magical it just grabbed me by the heart and pulled me in. I don’t think I have ever seen a face so compelling as Vincent’s. I was on the edge of my seat every week watching the clock tick until 8:00. NOTHING was allowed to interfere with my Friday night with B&B. After we bought our VCR [Vincent-Catherine-Recorder] I would watch during the show, then immediately again after the kids were in bed. Unfortunately we didn’t buy the VCR until quite late so I missed taping quite a few episodes.
Strangely enough, the third season kicked my art into action. I had never taken art seriously, only doing bulletin boards for school, occasional signs for buses, churches. I had done a few pieces of acrylic paintings watching those TV instructors, but nothing serious. Then the third season happened and I really thought after reading the warnings about it that I would be able to handle it. I was wrong. I had never had anything hit me so hard. I couldn’t explain how a “mere TV show” could put me in such a slump emotionally but I was alone with it. I started NEEDING to draw, and man, oh man, were my pictures ever DARK. Poor Vincent was so wrapped up in his gloom and doom. (Or mine?)
Then, happily, I found FANFIC! The stories (mostly SND at first, then Classic) brought me out of the slump and I found myself drawing of happier times. Pictures started waking me up in the middle of the night demanding to be drawn. I sent a few off to some editors and it escalated from there. I was often up between 10pm and 1am tossing pictures together. Happily I have slowed down because it was really wearing me out. I used to say I couldn’t draw people, but that didn’t seem to be the case after B&B kicked in big time.
A pencil travels around in a purse so much better than oils or watercolor. [Laughing] Pencil is so versatile, forgiving…and portable. I like the softness and depth you can get with just rubbing and smudging and erasing. Pencils and I have always gotten along. I usually use just a regular #2 pencil and then reach more depth by using an ebony pencil. I use the eraser to pull out the highlights... I like oils, but they need space that I don’t have available right now. I have to spread out and leave everything out. If I clean up and put away, I tend not to return to finish. I really love clay, but…well, the same can be said, cleanup (meaning put away) is not a good option for me. If I can ever get the time and enthusiasm for cleaning a studio area, I will be knee-deep in lots of stuff. Conté pastel pencils are great. They smudge, blend and erase. If I could find my pencil box I would love to dive into some color pictures. Glass etching was fun, but hard on my wrists. I used the diamond tip scratching tools, not the chemical.
I went to South of Oz with stars in my eyes and 2 pictures in my first zine. I came home from South of Oz with 8 zines, thinking I was covered for a while. I found out right away that it was not enough, and that I couldn’t afford this budding zine habit. Thank goodness for contributors’ copies. I sent out generic stuff to zine editors with high hopes and I had a few rejections and a few acceptances. I hadn’t drawn seriously and my stuff was very rough. As I improved, I had more acceptances and then started receiving requests as I was passed on between editors. Later on I settled into some situations where I felt very much at home, like with The Crystal Rose of NC with Joann, Vicki and the “other Sandy Shelton” (as we referred to each other.) They adopted me well and good.
The disadvantage of being the one artist for a whole book is you only get one book for all those drawings and you already know all the stories before it is printed. The advantage is that you are really part of the family. When doing the whole zine I sometimes would be one of the “froopreaders” as well, and that could be fun. You also learn that no matter how many times you read it, there will be at least three errors in the book. My favorite: “Vincent wrapped the clock around Catherine.”
When illustrating for a zine story on request, I would often ask for just the page of the story that I needed to illustrate so that I wouldn’t know the whole story until I had my contributor’s copy. If I didn’t get enough information it was disappointing to find that I missed a necessary piece of information (like in the story Vincent had his hands tied behind him, not in front of him as I had drawn.) I also found that specific illustrations lacked emotion and usually were not good for hanging. Pictures I do for myself or from a known scene usually have more emotional appeal to everyone and stand alone as hanging artwork.
Most of the originals have been sold in the Art Rooms over the years to help finance my convention trips, or given away. If a picture doesn’t sell, I would assume it’s not particularly good. I have some stuff in piles in the basement. Computer crashes took care of most of the weeding of scans I kept of the better stuff.
I was shocked the first time I lost all of my artwork. The second time I was just irritated because I thought I had protected it with a second hard drive. It was at that time I had met Marcus and started getting encouragement to learn to do my own computer repairs. I have been putting stuff online at The Artroom (for archive) or at DeviantArt (for critique) and back up my files to CD when I think of it. Every now and then I see a piece of my art that I have to look closely at to remember. Sometimes I forget to sign them. I have no idea how many drawings I have done.
EVERYBODY in my family and in my small Michigan town knows I am a Beauty and the Beast fan. I have been interviewed by the local paper. I know who in town are fans, and I know who in town not to talk to at all. And, yes, some think I am insane…no…make that eccentric. Luckily most equate it with my creativity and show enough interest to have been encouraging. If they think I am strange, I just smile and ask about their passions…most people have one. If they don’t, it’s a sad thing.