Exploring line

Last week I started my morning in the studio with 30mins of practicing switching off my analytical mind, and working quickly and uncensored to make layers of lines using different kinds of tools, mediums, and marks.

I had no end results in mind or intention to create finished artworks. These were purely for practicing mindset and being in my body, and to see if I do anything that’s new or fun or has results I like.

It’s such an interesting exercise to notice how much my analytical/ left-brain pops up and wants to control my art-making and steer me to neat or harmonious lines and colours, and keep me from creating marks that are unfamiliar to me or just different from my usual. It would rather I used lines to draw things that are recognisable and make sense and can be easily analysed as right or wrong or good or bad representations of reality. It’s much safer there in that space where the rules are known. “What are these? What’s it supposed to be?” The analytical mind wants answers!

But I want this to be a practice of exploring questions rather than creating answers, embracing uncertainty, creating purely for curiosity and pleasure, opening to new possibilities.

I enjoyed doing all of these and I really love the last two. I like the variety of thick and thin lines and contrasts in their directions, and also the quieter white marker and thin pencil lines are lovely in contrast with the thick and dark lines.

I’ve had these last two drawings out in my studio this week and every time I look at them I love them even more.I love the simplicity and peacefulness of their compositions and limited colour palettes, and that they suggest a seascape or landscape, but only just barely.

I’m noodling on how to create something like these, really big, on canvas or wood panel.I want to use thick acrylic paints in multitudes of different whites and neutrals and various drawing, sanding, and scraping tools to create a richly textured surface that you want to reach out and touch.