Finishing drawings - 2023 12 29

 

I sit down to work on a drawing. I have carved a bit of time out of the day after Mom goes to bed. I have no idea how the drawing is going to turn out. I turn off my brain. I turn off thinking about what it is I am doing. I turn off how I think it should go. 

I listen for guidance from my eyes, my hands, my fingers holding the graphite, pencil crayon or brush. I observe what happens and sometimes laugh to myself with surprise at the humour of my subconscious making itself known in the marks it leaves on the page.

Often I don't have the time, patience or energy to finish a drawing in one sitting. It will get through the first gesture and then wait on the display board for me to get back to it. Many times I have fallen in love with that first effort and I know the drawing isn't finished but I also can't bring myself to put the next layer over those first, simple, vulnerable lines.

Finally I get tired of knowing that it needs more work and I take it down for the next layer. These playful, wrestling donkeys speak volumes to my inner state at the end of the year. They surprised me as they emerged from the simple ink lines and light grey tone wash.