Drawing is the utter delight of making a personal mark. Whether this is accidental, purposeful, random, measured, tight or loose. Each and every one serves its purpose. I love to respond to and echo the world around me, and because drawing is indeed a language full of capabilities that can capture the sensibilities of a place both physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually, it is the language I choose to use.
Playing with marks is a basic action that has been a human need since the beginning of time used to share information, express ourselves and share our sensibilities with each other. It is a joy to explore, play and enable the release of others into that experience. Drawing is part of the alchemy of making because taking a simple tool and making a mark with it, transforms a surface and allows marks to dance with each other and find their rhythm together on that surface.
Drawing doesn’t have to be flat and two-dimensional. Playing with the surface and structure of a simple sheet of paper completely changes the visual interaction with a set of marks. Exploring the possibilities of a piece of paper through folding or curling as well as playing with light is essential within my process bringing another level of interest to those marks.
Discovering and observing found drawings.
Found drawings are simply anything you notice with a mark that is interesting that you didn’t make. I am particularly interested in drawings made by nature. That could be water, wind, rain, fallen leaves, branches, the earth or marks left by animals, there are endless possibilities. Recent work has come from observing how the rain had moved fir needles around by the side of a road at the edge of a forest. As a result the shapes made were completely entrancing.
Drawing as a result of lockdown
During lockdown I found myself in a third floor apartment in the centre of Frankfurt, Germany. Initially away from my home and my things, despite this or maybe because of my situation I drew. I drew every day: simple drawings of things in my environment which helped me to process. This subsequently developed into making sketchbooks from recycled material. Which in turn led to drawing the view from each of the windows in the apartment.
To watch more timelapse drawings check out my YouTube Channel.
Tea Paraphernalia.
I am a serious tea addict and collect all sorts of tea paraphernalia. These objects bring me joy on a number of levels. Whether that be memories of places or people or delicious tastes, they are great objects to observe and draw.
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