Change of Weather

Cocoon, collage, 2014

As snow piles up further east and south, it's raining here. If it were colder in Seattle we might have 10" by noon. Irregular bursts of water beat against the skylight with a cadence that seems match my own. Every residency has a rhythm and mine has fallen into an inevitable lull. So I’ll scrape away the dried glue, sweep up scraps of paper and wipe away dribbled ink. The forecast holds more weather systems so it's best to be prepared.

Reckoning

Reminiscing

Integration

Sumi ink, collage on paper, 2014

Some of the drawings you may have seen on the floor of my studio (Feb 7 post) have taken on new dimensions. 

Before and After, or How I Learned to Embrace Drawing

Example A of a tortured drawing!

Sumi ink on paper, 2014

I skipped posting any of my tight ass graphite drawings from last week, created while squinting, measuring, erasing, and drinking a lot of coffee. It turns out that building up layers of lines to create an image might even be . . . fun. There, I said it. Drawing isn't so bad, especially after the ink comes out. 

Shades of Gray

A few days ago I began shifting from ink to paper. Here is one study.

First Week

During this first week of February, I’ve been re-establishing a full-time studio practice. My schedule has been steady but more sporadic than I would like. It has been interrupted for by numerous events, including a death in the family, the holidays, and some travel. On top of that, it just takes awhile to settle into a new studio. While I've been here about six months, it occurred to me several weeks ago that I still haven't fully owned this new space. Familiarity is the key, so I've set about about with new schedule and work plan for the month. I'm calling this period of time an in-studio residency.

Last fall I confessed to my dislike of drawing during an artist talk, which surprisingly generated a dynamic discussion with about 15-18 people, mostly artists, about their like or dislike and all the gray areas between painting and drawing. But I digress at bit. I only bring this up because since then I've decided to reconsider my opinion by giving the practice another go. With that in mind, this entire first week has been all about a monochromatic palette and drawing from 3-D forms created last week. Here's a glimpse of what has been going on behind closed doors.