Drawing as Language

egg shell drawings Leslie Avon Miller

A small stick, some ink and watercolor, a pencil, some charcoal. A surface of paper, brown paper bag, or an egg shell. Drawing is a path to a small world complete with map, or to a story or to observation of beauty.

Marise Maas

 

 

Drawing the Unknown

Taking from the drawer

a large sheet of thick, white paper,

I place it on the floor

and kneel before it.

With a big stick of charcoal

I begin to make marks;

rhythmic, gestural, hard, soft,

intuitively covering the paper

until my hand takes over.

I work slowly with feeling,

drawing deeper

into the paper, into myself,

responding to what is there.

I sponge, smudge, rub, caress,

overlay new marks,

continue building layers,

building energy,

creating more depth,

darkening parts of the paper like thunder

causing the charcoal to splinter, crumble,

crack under pressure.

Now drawing with the rubber

I work into the darkness

clearing passages of light

and before me

there’s a tonal range,

graded and granular

from coal black

to the palest whisper of grey.

I keep going,

immersed, mesmerized,

becoming aware of illusory shapes.

I keep pushing, pulling,

forming, coaxing

until I lift the image out

and my hand is still.

~Ann Symes

Ann Symes, Burn 7

Ann Symes, Distant Voice, graphite

 For me, drawing facilitates thinking. The drawing process is so crucial to me, 

and gradually I have noticed that the activities in life which I prioritize and 

repeat outside of drawing allow a similar kind of thought process to take place, 

for example spending time walking is very important to me.

Through walking, I consciously create time to think, observe and explore. 

But, also I see walking as a linear journey or path through a thought process, 

similar to that of making a drawing. 

I think the other parallel is motion. 

I find it easier to think when I am in some kind of motion, 

which for me is particularly conductive to contemplation.

~Gemma Anderson

Drawing, Leslie Avon Miller

For me drawing is all about movement, it is always the result of an action, a record of motion as a result of a force exerted over time. Whether it be the artist's hand or body, seismic movement, the motion of a tree branch or the path followed by the wind through the landscape it is always the result of movement.

~Tim Knowles

Tim Knowles Tree Drawings

 

 

 

by mick maslen and jack southern

brown paper bag drawing, Leslie Avon Miller

As I put this post together I realized the subject of drawing has the potential for several blog posts. To be continued...

To draw, you must close your eyes and sing.

~Paublo Picasso

More drawings I love are here.