Gravity's edge

I went to see this exhibition at the Hirshhorn in Washington DC

 http://www.hirshhorn.si.edu/collection/gravitys-edge/#collection=gravitys-edge - it made me think about the nature of relationship in art, since running a drawing workshop and of course being part of many myself, I have been struck by just how important relationship is both in the context of subject to subject / artist or in a group of people mark making together. 

How can u capture a semi uncontrollable process like Lynda Bengalis pouring pigmented latex shown here on the floor ... 

And Sam Francis 'untitled 1967' edge painting on the wall 

Where does a painting stop and the wall/floor begin?

Relationships raise questions and fuse connections. 

Morris Louis 'delta theta' He was interested in the rawness of the blank space - this as opposed to the rawness of a wall which is outside of the painting edge...they have different blank qualities in this case because of the framed edge and the tension of space created by the paint. 

Helen frankenthaler 'Indian summer ' 

Paul Jenkins 'blue balls ' 'phenomena series'

More workshop ideas - having visited a lot of space rockets in the US and almost witnessed a rocket launch (cancelled 45 mins before take off due to a helium leak) ....gravity and directional marking is evolving as a new theme.

Using liquids and surfaces, movement and gravity, create and semi control marks whilst considering relationships and edges. 

reaching into wide open spaces

 

I did this piece 6 years ago one of a series of about 20 collages. It has remained with me as a link to something else all this time but I've not had an idea of what really it could become, many thoughts have come and gone, many crazy ideas of huge canvases filling a beautiful gallery space.

I now know through experience and practise that if I keep on drawing then something will come, as long as I am prepared to follow hunches and jump into opportunities that come up whether they are just choosing different materials to use or visiting a particular show or reading a book I hear about on the radio - all this contributes to a slow emergence of what is really a continuation of an idea that was first realised years ago (even this idea came out of something so its not the start of something but also a continuation ...and it goes on!).

I actually need these works/ideas as anchors in my practise because they give it foundation, reference and authenticity because they grow with me over time, they re-appear in different guises but remain traceable and detectable if you are interested in uncovering them.

In 2014 I now find myself drawing and specifically exploring line and curve. my current statement says 'I am primarily concerned with drawing.  A strong sense of movement, physicality and contrast are key elements as are line and curve' I have arrived here without deliberately making this connection to an early significant piece of work and I love that. Creativity happens regardless of me trying or not trying, so long as I regularly work to allow it to happen.





That's the simple bit: living it is the complicated bit because I must keep working in a state of uncertainty and vulnerability. I don't know how a piece of work is going to turn out and even if or when I do I have no idea of what will come next unless I keep working, trusting and acting on ideas and instincts. This can make working towards an exhibition a risky and really quite stressful business - the tension of what it will look like and how it will curate as a body of work when that body is not yet complete. I have to 'lean' into the unknown and believe in myself.
This is where my anchors help give me firm roots deep into solid ground from there I can stretch and reach beyond myself with my self imposed limits. Reaching into wide open spaces. I would go as far as to say this is my faith.

Finding lines

ash lines

stepping stones

Its hard to articulate why I make work; I do it instinctively - so there's something in the FEEL of doing it. I think while I am preparing the surface, in recent pieces that's painting board,with gesso (or even a step before that, mixing gesso from chalk powder). Then sanding it back looking and feeling for a lead into how the piece is going to progress all the time semi-concious of recent drawing trips and body memory of repeated drawings and movements, I develop a relationship with the surface. 

This also feeds directly into performance/movement drawing - feeling a rhythm and being aware or knowing what will come next by letting the body move only in the moment. Some decisions are concious and these are fed by accumulated knowledge or preference.

I leave a space for interpretation; I make a suggestion - I can't say exactly what the images are as they are an amalgamation of choices and influences throughout the process of building up marks. Influences such as music, mood, location, experience, temperature, a line that repeats, a curve that fits.

So I paint then sand back. The surface and I are now familiar with each other - we have built a relationship. Sometimes the surface dictates a line and I follow its lead, or I make the first move and the surface responds. what follows is the struggle which concerns the image coming forth the desire to control and restrict it. This tension is what makes work sing. 

To manage this dialogue I work on 2 or 3 pieces at a time, allowing unworkable elements to co-exist with more successful ones I like the sense of progression there is always something to move from and onto; like stepping stones I leap across one to the other. 

Art after the drapes

Having spent the morning drawing drapes at the Beacon, Hastings I took advantage of the bright sunlight plus the fact i still had all my drawing gear with me and drove on up to the country park near Fairlight. It's interesting to note that in my drawings during the still life session of drapes there was an unmistakable presence of what can only be described as landscape. 

This is actually very exciting as it demonstrates I that I now approach subjects in a way that is unquestionably my own language - I have talked about having a visual language of marks and lines before but sometimes the penny drops right down into the slot and I take a significant step forwards. Trying to decipher what drawing is about is sometimes ruined by over analysing but occasionally there are moments of clarity in what is for me an intuitive and almost unconscious process that I am trying to understand better.

Here are the rest of the sketches from Hastings looking over to Dungeness power station. A mixture of charcoal, compressed and home made, black pastel, graphite and chalk. 

Charcoal burning

Making charcoal in Heathfield - an experiment to find the biggest bit of wood I can successfully charcoal, results so far have been mixed. The biggest log of ash we used splintered into big chunks but doesn't make a very good mark. I think the Alder and Pussy willow are better mark makers. I have tried all sorts of wood to see which works better though its almost impossible to remember or recognise which is which after its burned!