Each series below links to a gallery of drawings for you to explore.
The Waterglass
If you are raised on pessimism, at some point you realize this is not a successful strategy for living a (happy) life. So you have a long conversation, it may go on and on….. and eventually you may start to see things differently, at least on Tuesdays. This is a visual representation of the dialogue between a pessimist and an optimist. Charcoal on paper.
[Break-Rule]
Drawings in Dust 1
Drawings in Dust is an ongoing series influenced by my years of painting in sumi-e. The drawings are a form of homage to the traditions I absorbed as a calligrapher and student of Japanese art. They bear little resemblance to traditional sumi-e, but they use the atmospheric qualities of powdered pigment and charcoal to reinterpret the subtle tonalities of ink on rice paper. I use the same materials, water and black pigment and sumi brushes, but the pigment is dry charcoal powder instead of ink. Where the powder touches water it activates as though it was ink, yet in a way that resembles lithography or photographic prints. Like sumi-e this medium is an intense engagement with paper and its very particular surface, but because the “ink” is a dry dust it can be lifted and worked subtractively. This allows for more atmospheric depth, control of values and the ability to “glaze” with washes of tone.
[Break-Rule]
Drawings in Dust 2
A continuation of the drawings in Dust from late 2011 onward. Numerous themes.
[Break-Rule]
The Garden
Drawings using powdered pigment, watercolor and charcoal inspired by the long tradition of botanical art and by my wonderland of a garden.
[Break-Rule]
Signs and symbols
My design career is informed by the language of icons and symbol-forms. These works are hybrids, straddling a zone between information systems and mystery. Powdered pigment, charcoal dust, watercolor and pencil on paper.
[Break-Rule]
Pandemic Pencil Drawings
Pencil drawings done during pandemic isolation. The space between realism and reflection.
[Break-Rule]