Monday, June 30, 2014

Drawings using the new theme


I have been working on a series of drawings using my new theme and the many different patterns that I have discovered when out taking photos by the sea.

It is a very slow process. I could of course produce drawings much more quickly if I used a different, broader technique, but I guess I am a bit of a masochist. Because I like detail, when it comes to drawing I want to be able to show as much of the detail as I can. To do that I use just a sharp HB pencil, a pencil eraser and a tissue and I build up the drawing in many layers, which naturally takes time. I apply pencil, then take colour away with the eraser then blur everything with the tissue so that the individual pencil marks are no longer visible then start the process again and again, gradually making the depths darker and the highlights visible until to my eyes at least, the image no longer looks flat.



Because it is a slow process and I can get impatient I intersperse bouts of work on the drawings with broader brush pieces such as collagraphs or lino cuts and paintings.

I keep on coming back to the drawings though and having another “fiddle” so they are probably never truly “finished” until I have to mount them for exhibition.



So far there are 6 drawings each 40 x 40 cms at the “fiddle” stage plus one just started. As I plan to have around 10 on the theme I still have a way to go.



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