in the studio

POSTED ON Tuesday, February 24, 2015 - 22:42

Finally back in the studio today.

When I return to the studio after having been away for a number of days in a row my day goes through several creative stages. Gathering supplies, preparing surfaces and then making the first marks of the day.

Today's first marks were an experiment. I used sumi ink and some new plastic droppers.

I'm not sure what will happen next but it was a good start to the day.

work surface in the studio
POSTED ON Sunday, February 1, 2015 - 09:18

Most recent work. Expanding the measurements series with horizontal lines. These lines require super concentration. Dip pens need to positioned just right to drag across the substrate. The lines again are drawin with one dip until they run out and then are filled again. When the ink runs out I return to begin from the left again. Open spaces occur randomly, creating a rest in the measurement.

I always draw or brush pigments for my backgrounds.so the have tonal differences, sometimes textures, and almost always — voids.

orange horizontal lines
POSTED ON Friday, January 30, 2015 - 19:07

These are new drawings the first that I have made in the new year. I had to start somewhere and something said: Make a purple drawing, very purple.

purple and white drawing one
POSTED ON Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 16:15

Everything in my studio is important to me. Each object holds memories of the work that has been created; they are my art partners. This stool has been in every creative space since 1977. At one time it was a tall stool with a back, but when I stopped working at a drawing table I removed the back. Somewhere along our journey the back didn't travel to the next studio.

studio stool
POSTED ON Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - 08:43

These images show the one result in the circular rhythms of creating and waiting. An empty ordered space allows the making of new things. Clarity comes from this sense of order. The process of making is messy.

My studio and I are now in the waiting place. 

POSTED ON Tuesday, November 25, 2014 - 22:48

Today I spent most of the day cleaning up after the mounting matting and framing of work for the Heron Show.

I took all the finished drawings off the walls. Everything has been put away and now I'm ready to begin with something new. Another ink gift, orange sumi.

orange sumi may be next
POSTED ON Friday, October 31, 2014 - 10:45

New work 12 x 12.

I've started making marks on the orange surfaces I've made in the past few weeks. This is the first larger one which is watercolor paper mounted on a cradle board.It was an effort to cover the area with my two stroke eliptical forms. Next I will fill the open spaces.

I've posted two images one from a normal distance, the other a detail.

Can't wait to get back into the studio to add the next layer.

new orange drawings maybe for Heron Studios [detail]
POSTED ON Friday, October 31, 2014 - 08:50

Here's a look at the tools I'm using to make my walnut drawings.


This view gives you an idea of how the whole nature of the process of drawing informs what the work will be in the final state. The process is the drawing. This has been the case with all the drawings I have been making in 2014. No emotion, no memories, no composition. No consideration for anything but making the marks. No standing away from the drawing and assessing it.

The process makes its own demands

the ink pot
POSTED ON Wednesday, October 29, 2014 - 16:22

I've been making these very small drawings with walnut ink. They feel old, they feel like small twigs in the woods, they are cryptic.

I determined some criteria for making them based on the ink. The ink is in a very small pot. It is handmade and has a handwritten label on the lid. All of these details ask one to slow down and appreciate the moment of placing a sheet of paper on a drawing surface, opening the ink pot slowly. and dipping the pen.

Each dip and mark are their own voice.

walnut ink drawings one
POSTED ON Monday, October 27, 2014 - 21:55

This past weekend was Philadelphia Open Studio Tours. I'm recovering from two long days talking with people about my work in the studio. I rarely got a chance to sit down. This is a shot of my work table that day. The new pieces are orange and in the foreground. I am hoping to have them ready for a holiday show and sale that I have been invited to participate. In the background all six of my pencil drawings are now in private collections. Really thrilled.

old and new

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