In "The Language of Drawing" Edward Hill states more than once that drawing is an experience. I believe that, practice it and know it's true for any type of art-making.
While drawing last night the conversation in my head vacillated between two ideas:
(1) drawing is an experience of the present--it's aim is to be as cognizant as possible of every breath, heart beat, emotive/energetic shift in me and the model. The drawing is devoted to them, how they present themselves at that moment, including what they look like. My focus remains locked on them, their skin, contours, and proportions.
(2) drawing is an experience that traverses into alternate planes and my job is to hook into whatever journey (energetic journey or spirit?) presents itself and draw from that image. The more universal, open, accessible the marks and resulting image the better--a visual likeness to the model is secondary if at all a part of the art. The model is inspiration, a springboard, a way to make images of "a person" rather than of "them". Less specificity the better. I react and respond from the gut first and foremost with my marks and color choices. The drawing is more about movement, energy, reaction, recognizing/realizing something of the human experience, rather than a visual likeness.
Here's a selection of the drawings I made last night during that internal debate and visual exploration. These drawings switch back and forth between these two tactics/modus operandi for the artist, me, as I made marks on papers while observing the model.
All the drawings are a minimum of 24"X36" up to 30"x40". I used charcoal, chalk, drawing ink. Some are Gesture Drawings (ranging from 30 seconds to 1 minute) and others are 20 minutes up to 40 minutes (drawing of a woman seated in a chair).
Most are available for purchase. Email me for pricing.
Click on images for larger versions. Thank you for visiting.





