From Doodle to Puzzle to Meditation

Charcoal on paper, 18x11", 2011

Detail of the above work

A week of exploration!  I have been working on the drawing above this past week and I finished it last night.  It's been a strange one full of fun compositional puzzles to figure out.  It began with just a goal of doodling bubbles one night.  I've been really attracted to circles in recent months...I blame the doodle of overlapping circles I drew on our drawing table for this obsession.  Though the pen marks have faded with cleaning, the circles remain present.  It's acting like some sort of strange reminder.

Soon the page was filled with the large circles connected by lines and I didn't quite know what was next.  It wasn't long before swirls of small circles began swooping down on the picture plane to add depth to the space.  I somewhat do not feel right in taking credit of the small circle placements - it was as if they just appeared, and I was only there to follow directions of what it wanted.  The paper texture guided my marks as well.  It was somewhat of a meditation to create this, and now I have begun a second drawing of this theme using the same materials, but on more of a close-up focus. 

I think the challenge that may be presenting itself is the illusion of space - or the ability to look into an area and feel as though the drawing goes beyond where my eyes can see.  I like that idea paired with areas of flatness.  This idea is not new to contemporary drawing, but it is a new venture to me.  It seems like an interesting direction to see what happens.  I'm still doing the layer studies as well, and perhaps these ideas will cross paths soon - or at least at some point during this year of exploration.

I also purchased a big piece of vellum-like paper for the pleasing price of 99 cents this week!  I have seen some artists use to overlay drawings and draw on the front side and back side to create more depth.  I will be experimenting with this to see if it will be a successful way to go forward.  I'm wondering if it will enhance that depth, or if it will just agitate the compositions by making it seem as though something is obstructing the view (and we'll all be looking at it while screaming in our heads, "Get that damn thing out of my way!").  ha!

Thanks for reading and love to all!  Have a great rest of the day and an excellent week!