Sunday, May 5, 2013

Pushing Back


Busy, 2013.  ink on paper w/ gouache  22 x 22

I am really enjoying the possibilities of ink and the unique challenges it offers.  When I started this series of drawings last year,  I was looking for a medium that would 'push back'.  I felt that I was getting too comfortable in the way I was working, that nothing was very surprising.  I felt like my process was getting a bit predictable.  I needed to change things up.  

Working with ink is a little like walking on an artistic tight rope with no safety net.  The chance for failure is high, and the work must be made with confidence and a sure hand because there is no way to make major corrections if you make a mistake.  That is the reward of this medium, never knowing if the composition is going to work. 

But when it does it is amazing.  

That's why I go to work everyday.