Drawing outside the box

Today's offering.

Longer days, shorter nights

I haven't been able to stop working on this piece, but here's what it looks like right now.

And then there's this...

I began with the same process as the last posting and set out to push it farther. Somehow it got away from me.
What I thought would happen was: the stuff I found would be subtle and ethereal, the movement gentle, floating just into and back out of reach.
What I found was a cacophony of clashing, layered-up 'objects' rushing no where fast. (Why are there objects?)
I guess I'm finding the space between me and everything else is filled with lots of, hmmm, I don't know what.
I'll try again tomorrow.

Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens

I was on the sofa this morning drawing and wondering what would the air/space around me look like if I could see it? The heat kicked on and warm air floated into the room. The cat wandered by leaving a slight ripple in her wake. I shifted position and felt a whisper of air move.
This brings me back to an old interest in the spaces in between things, the spaces around us. An old interest not fully explored.

La casa

I found a cool site filled with x-rays of seashells and was fascinated to see the interior of these beautiful houses. My drawing is not nearly the pristine, graceful interpretation I intended, but the imperfect slogging-away rendering that it had to be.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy it; I did. Its value for me is in the process, the repetitive nature of cross-hatching, the lovely feel of that cheap pen on good paper, and the meditative spirit in which I worked.
This piece is larger than my usual sketchbook work, about 17 x 32 inches.

Patterns

Today I'm thinking about where these drawings are taking me... not just inside, but inside and down to the small particles of self.
I'm always wondering about where we come from, what makes life alive, and I'm looking for the tiny natural patterns created by life forms growing and changing. What's actually inside a cell, for instance.
Patterns interest me because of their repetitive nature and the ritual that implies when drawing. Here's a way-cool example in the conus textile - beautiful shell - I found on Wikipedia.

Well, sort of visceral, oozy and alive

I love how a series of fading lines gives way to the illusion of light.

Happy Anniversary to me

Setting aside the animations for a moment, I ponder that I have come round to one complete year of blogging. Brilliant!
I've learned a lot in this year: That I can be true to an idea, a commitment; and that I don't have to do it perfectly – i.e. the October gap, the bad drawings posted, the ideas that end up going nowhere; that there are LOTS of ideas kicked around, some taken up, some set aside, some better set aside – and a lot gone and forgotten in the time before I began to put them down.
Bummer.
So, here's to another creative year.
I'd like to get more critical, more philosophical and push my ideas further in the next 12 months. So I resolve to focus, research when necessary, put in more hours, and work a lot harder. And I'll be asking for feedback from my friends, colleagues and visitors. Don't hold back.
Yesterday I finished animating 101 strands in that darned piece (see previous entry). I'm not digging it – it's too flat and too slick. I suspect I need to swallow hard and go to totally hand drawn frames. I will finish it and post it (buck up!) and accept failure. As I am often to do, but usually not in public ...
About this drawing: Making this drawing was a joy. Each stroke of the ink pen (15¢ Papermate) on the slightly textured paper felt good, right, real. I went for an atmosphere that has only been hinted at before in my work. It's very delicate, and I will explore that further, but I wanted to stop before it turned to mud.

Wig, take one

OK I know it's rough, and I even wonder what the heck I'm doing here. This has turned into a much bigger job than I thought it would be. And to what end?
I do actually have a story line, sort of, and what you see here is a snippet of the first draft. Once I figured out the HOW, I enjoyed the process of working with each piece. Not tedious, but meditative, like breathing in, breathing out.

Aughhhh...

Well, Buddha wasn't around much today. It was a very frustrating animation day and I have no finished seconds to upload... gosh, I hate to blow a deadline, even one self-imposed.
So, here's another drawing in a too-long string of interior clutter pictures. Looking back over the last few posts, I can't say I care much for what's happening in here. Is it holiday meltdown? Maybe. Winter panic? OK. Or inattention to my process. Guilty.
My internal struggles sometimes add to the work, but often take away from it.
Out on the beach today I deliberately drew ugly (frustration) ... and tonight (seen here), I draw and search. The pleasure is in the small (really small) details. Searching for something I haven't seen before... something that might make me want to get up tomorrow and do it again.

One hundred hairs

I spent last night getting ready to animate this drawing, cutting and pasting into many many layers. Later today I'll post the results, so check back.
I expect it to be a process of meditation – repetition and ritual, measured breaths with focus and clarity. Well, I hope to get to clarity.
Buddha help me to experience patience.