Hi, I have done a lot of sketching this summer, and have put some of my favorite sketches into a set on Flickr which can be found at https://flic.kr/s/aHskiEZS6i.
I hope you enjoy them. if you wish to indulge me further, you can read the essay below on how and why I made these. I'd love to hear your opinions on the sketches and the essay. Thanks. > I've been making abstract sketches (the only kind i was ever able to make) > off and on (mostly off) since at least 1970. At the beginning of June I took > an informal dance workshop which ended with some sketching. I was intrigued > and bought a few magic markers and a couple of sketchbooks. I quickly > discovered that sketching was the most centering thing I could do by myself > and have been sketching more and more since, using magic marker pens and, > more recently, oil pastels. It had the advantage of not requiring the use of > a computer and the further advantage (at first!) that I was not as invested > in the quality of the results as I would be when doing photography or video. > > Sketching has helped me deal with some stressful and emotionally troubling > issues. There is a park with a lovely lake two blocks from my house, and I > try to bring down some pens and a sketchbook to a picnic table in the park > for at least an hour of sketching on every nice day. I also sketch at home, > usually for at least an hour a day. > > I have always worked improvisationally in every art form that I have pursued, > but I quickly realized that I needed to develop some new strategies for > sketching, because a medical condition makes it impossible for me to draw a > precise line or shape. I've been trying to judo my weakness into a strength > by thinking of all the things I can do that somebody who could draw a precise > line might not think of. Sometimes I pick out a pen and a region of the > picture work on and just go on whim, and draw whatever line my hand wants to > draw. On occasion, I pick out a pen and draw some lines very quickly without > even thinking about it. I often draw percussively, wielding the pan as if it > were a drum stick. Sometimes I listen to the ambient sounds (if outdoors) or > music (if indoors) and let the sound guide my hand. > > I often start drawing a line without knowing where it will go or how long it > will be – I just keep moving the pen until I seem to be done. I've also > developed techniques for very quickly making textures with a rapidly drawn > sequence of short thin lines. When I make a 'mistake' I try to follow Brian > Eno's oblique strategy "honour thy error as a hidden intention" and find a > way to incorporate the error into the piece. > > Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of analogies to dance in my sketching. I > think of it as something like contact improvisation for pens and paper. Dance > teachers and facilitators often tell us to think more about how it feels than > about how it looks. This seems like a peculiar metaphor to use in a visual > art, but in practice I often look at the sketch in progress, choose a pen, > and do whatever my body wants to do in reaction to the stretch. -- Emile Art is man's way of saying "I love you" to the universe. My photography can be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/22231918@N06/collections/72157603627170351/ My videos can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/Tobenfeld
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