Finally, my line drawing project is complete! It turned out to be surprise to me because it's certainly not any of the (many) drawings I started with, but sometimes it happens this way. Suddenly and without warning you find yourself creating something very pleasing and very beautiful and before you know it, you have your work of art.
This one is a pencil drawing of shapes, squiggles and doodles, something I must have started over a year ago. When I found it again in my sketchbook, I realized I liked what was going on and decided to continue with it. Then one day, as I was on a long catch up call with a friend, I began to ink in the shapes and it really started to come to life. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the pencil version, but above are some shots of it inked and outlined as well as the finished version with some shadowing using watercolor pencil.
Now this may not be pleasing to you, in fact you may not like it at all, but there is something very soothing (to me) about doodling on a sheet of paper. I guess I have always preferred whimsical drawings with organic, abstract shapes and lines that lead you from one nook and cranny to the next. It's not that I don't like figurative drawings, in fact I do, very much, it's just that when I look at an abstract drawing (or painting) I can make up my own story to go with it. Try it. Is there any part of my drawing above that reminds you of something...anything? What do you see happening in this drawing?
As a child, my favorite author and illustrator was Mercer Mayer (still is, actually). It wasn't so much the storyline of each Little Monster or Little Creature book that captured my attention, rather the illustrations that I found so fascinating. Each sheet was packed with visual excitement as main characters were surrounded by smaller creatures vying for their own space on the page. Even as "Professor Wormbog" went in search of a "Zipperump-A-Zoo" (1976), there were always monsters in boats or up trees making faces at one another (and for some reason always advertising "Eat at Joe's") that encouraged me to not only read the printed words to the story but also to make up my own narratives for these characters and actions. Who knows, maybe this is why I enjoy my nonsensical shapes that ask you to take a minute to look deeper at the drawing and play with it for a while.
Some of our most powerful images come from our childhoods. Do you have a favorite book, author or image that you remember fondly? Does it ever play out in your own artwork?...
