About
The Evolution of the Accurasee Drawing Tools
Hi, my name is Bjorn Thorkelson. Welcome to my little website. I’m the accidental founder and president of Accurasee Art Products. What started as a little spark of an idea for my own personal use has grown into something resembling a functioning business.
It all started while working towards an online Masters Degree at Academy of Art College in San Francisco. Because of the online format, I needed to take digital photos of my art projects and present them along side my reference images for critique. Seeing them side by side, at identical size relationships was humbling to say the least. If you haven’t done this before I highly recommend it:-) I can almost guarantee that it will reveal proportion problems in the work of even the most experienced professional artists. This experience motivated me to take a step back, reassess my skills and teach myself through whatever means necessary to see more accurately. Thus began my obsession with reading and experimenting with various measurement techniques and drawing methods. It was a month or two into this process that I discovered and started using the proportional divider in traditional and nontraditional ways. The divider was a revelation to me. As I started seeing the invaluable utility of this under utilized tool, I decided to create my own cheaper “artists version” of the proportional divider. Gradually, the use of the proportional divider is becoming more widely accepted as another valuable measurement tool that any artist can add to their drawing “toolkit.”
This is when the entrepreneurial lightbulb went off and I started my journey “down the rabbit hole.” First and foremost I still consider myself an artist, but I’ve come to realize that this act of product creation gave me a sense of satisfaction as well. This has lead to sketchbooks filled with not only traditional drawings and artistic musings, but also product ideas that I’ve barely begun to explore. So far, It’s the Porportional Divider, Sketch Caddie, AccuClip, and a couple of iPhone and Desktop apps. If all continues to go well, you’ll see a bunch more products in the near future, so stay tuned!
“I believe that by using the accurasee drawing system as well as the proportional divider and the many other tools at every artists disposal, we can all learn to draw more accurately not only in the short term, but over the long term as well. It’s not about cheating your way to success. It’s about checking yourself consistantly and never just assuming you know everything. Make a stroke and check it. Over time you’ll learn what your weaknesses are and make huge inroads into your growth as a representational artist.”
~Bjorn Thorkelson
About Bjorn
After graduating from Art Center College of Design with honors, he pursued illustration as a practical means of providing for a young family and preparing to achieve his ultimate goal of becoming a painter. After 12 years as a full time illustrator, he entered the fine art gallery market. Bjorn adds, “I look at my years as an illustrator as a period of intense learning and preparation. Over 15 years of illustration, I learned how to draw and paint and I acquired the skills necessary to create art. I'm now able to enter the galleries with a more mature vision of who I am and what I want to communicate. I’m passionate about what I do. I wake up everyday with a new hope of creating something special or learning something new.” Over the past several years, Bjorn has won awards associated with the prestigious Raymar Art Competition, The Oil Paintiers of America and many other shows. He's currently represented by the Wilcox Gallery in Jackson Hole WY. Click here to see some of his work at gbjorn.com