I have had a very busy two weeks and had almost completed this draft intending to get it posted but have many interruptions and so will post this as it is and load more during the next day. In this post I wanted to show what I do with some of the images I take of still life settings. In this example I have changed the image to black and white and then cut away large section and then I have worked this into collage and compositions ideas,
It does not mean that I will always use every still life I have taken an image of in this particular way, but doing this can lead me to think more 'What if I tried this out' experimentation.
This drawing is a good example of what I often do. Just playing around with the image and allowing the ink drawing to be brushed over with water and gesso. Adding some detail in ink on the back and white image section. I know I am sharing this page of my sketchbook with you, and I am being a bit brave in doing so ........to me there is no such thing as bad drawing, all mark making has value, I got over that when I went to see Matisse exhibition of mainly his drawings, and this taught me some huge lessons about what constitutes drawing. The point of me doing this originally was not about showing this to anyone, I do these for me, it helps me to experiment with materials and media, explore stories develop new ideas and it is fundamental to my personal development as an artist.
Last week I called into our local bookshop, I always find it hard to walk by with out wandering around and I noticed a really good book of Brett Whiteley drawings and it is again a reminder to me that these exercises are so valuable for any artist's development and that nothing should be thrown away! If you get an opportunity to take a look as his drawings I am sure you will feel differently about producing the most 'perfect' line work. I have a number of books on my Christmas list now just wish they were not always so expensive! I love researching artists drawings because they tell me so much about their processes and their explorations and how they take their lines and markings for a walk!
So no matter what you may think of this drawing in my sketchbook, it has been one that I have used and it is valuable to me. It was a worthwhile exercise and has added to my series of ink experiments in this sketch book. I hope I encourage others to keep on drawing no matter what you may think go your ability that is not what is important. Every time I do this I learn more about myself and the stories I hope to build upon through my completed artwork. I learn more about pushing the boundaries on my work and that is important.