One of the essential parts of making art is getting ready to make art. The rituals of opening new materials, sanding surfaces, applying sealers and grounds are all necessary to get in the art making state of mind.

I'm prepping two new panels for drawings. As with my previous drawings in this series one drawing will be made directly on the wood surface and the other will be made on watercolor paper mounted to the panel surface. To protect the paper from the wood surface it needs a gesso layer and a protective bonding agent.

A pair of my walnut missives will be included in Arbitrary Relevance a group show in our building's new gallery Ground Floor. The inaugural exhibition will present a tidy pile of small works by artists who work in 1241 Carpenter.

Excited about the new opportunities in the new exhibition space. I've included the names of the other confirmed participants. I hope you'll join me for the reception or during the gallery hours listed below.

More about my walnut missives >

Two drawings. It took me much longer than usual to make this pair.

They began as a pair from the very begining. I purchased the two panels at the same time. I unpacked them at the same time. I applied a drawing surface to them both at the same time. 

Yesterday was the first full day in my studio in a while. Freezing cold temperatures and the job had kept me away. Still it didn't take long to choose a challenge for the day.

I have been working on two orange panels for several months. What I wanted to do with them has made itself known in waves of clarity and cloudiness. I began clearly enough with dense and tonal backgrounds of orange. I almost wanted to leave them in their first state. I wasn't brave enough. I would come to the conclusion later they weren't really finished.

Trying to get something started.

I cut some sheets of Yupo to size. Working on seeing what happens when I make a series of about 40 drawings and arrange them in a grid. These are the first two in the series.

I'm about to work on two new pieces within the same framework. I never know what this ink will do. I haven't done any of these monochrome measurement drawings with magenta before. So much is new in drawing and experience. Off to make some more.

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.

It feels as though it has been ages since I've been in my studio.

I'm walking around boxes at home but they are slowly being discarded as belongings are absorbed into drawers and closets. I can't make art when I feel this kind of disorder. Soon I'll be able to get past the boxes and back into the studio.

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.

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.

Cleaning my studio reveals my addictions. I love using single edged razor blades. I prefer them to scissors or xacto blades; although I do have stocks of both. Everywhere I pick up studio debris I find another straight edged razor blade, aka Gem Blades. It's a danger zone for those who don't know the signs.

I'm crazy about having a sharp one so I'm always opening a fresh blade for fear of creating a tear rather than a clean cut.