Drawing
Drawing is the means by which I process ideas. Drawing is a way of being constantly productive without the need to preconceive any outcomes. Working on paper allows me to surround myself with lots of visual stimulation, a clutter of energy that fuels my productivity. I produce drawing on small and large scales in a variety of mediums, including metal point, pencil, ink, gouache and oil stick.
Quite often drawing is created in response to the tactile effect of the paper itself or the scratch of a pen on a surface.
The physical abrasion between the material and the paper seems to be an act of prying for secrets that lie behind the surface; like a dog scratching at a door.
This feeling often informs the content of a drawing, so that the responsiveness of marks or tears that exist on the paper already become a presence within the drawing.
I regard the materials I use as analogous to the medium of speech itself, the vehicle for the voice. Often it is the interaction between dry chalky marks and the fluid motions of liquid mediums that create a dialogue in the work. With gouache, I often use big pots of water and large brushes, working over the top of other materials, partially obscuring forms while retaining underlying structures. I may then work back into the wet ground with less-soluble mediums.
I learn from drawing. I keep the drawings in boxes in the studio and sometimes look back through them to establish connections between various modes of expression. In this way, drawing is an accumulated wealth of information that informs me of where I have been, comparable to leaving tracks in my wake. It therefore reassures me of a sense of future purpose, like a map that unfolds as I progress into uncharted areas.
Explore the Processes
2. Collaborative Participation
4. Drawing (You Are Here)