Drawing talk notes
500 drawings (details)
charcoal on paper
approx a3 size sheets
c.1993
I recently heard students from Massey have seen and raved about my 24 Drawings at the Parkin. I’ve been asked to go and chat with them about how I use drawing in my practice, and what my thoughts were behind the work in the show. Here are my initial, very rough notes…
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Notes for a talk about 24 Drawings and how I use drawing in my practice - sfd.
Some context
Drawing as a foundational skill.
A means to express thought / ideas
Villa Arson, Nice – ink drawings on a4 paper 500 drawings
Grid format
- Eye jumps to make connections
- less is more, more is even more
Every few years - a drawing blat.
Pile of cheap paper, crayon / charcoal / brush and ink / pen
Could even be / has been a pad of post-it notes
Not precious.
A means of loosening up, of getting the need to draw out of my system.
They don’t have to be anything more than what they are.
Drawing as a means to quickly explore and develop ideas
Drawings / doodles in my notebook
*I don’t see “doodles” as being pejorative
Scale of mark relative to size of page
Also, drawing on the computer. Making works to a specific size. Digital drawing as planning and testing.
24 Drawings - my thoughts
The urge, after making so much hard edged work, to do something looser.
A surprise for people who only know my recent NZ practice.
(I’ve a history of mark making, unbeknownst to many who know my practice since I’ve been in NZ)
Blat
Not thinking / second guessing
Conscious / Unconscious
Material experience, visceral,
Not thinking about a finished piece, making drawings to “scratch an itch”
Material feel / sensitivity (slip and resistance)
Accompanying statement – in part a petulant response to being asked to describe the work – you can see what the work is!
Keep churning it out - problems solved through making, worked out on the page (as opposed to thinking about making).
(Clarity of) Intent
Confidence in mark making
Images of..
- 500 drawings
- drawings / doodles in sketchbook
- older drawings in sketchbook around the time of 24 Drawings
- drawings made for Te Tuhi show
- other Illustrator drawings?
Change medium, change your thinking