Bodrifty, Nov.2011
Bodrifty, Nov. 2011
Bodrifty, Nov. 2011
Bodrifty, Nov. 2011
Bodrifty, Nov. 2011
Bodrifty, Nov. 2011
I found 36 meanings for the verb ‘to draw’ in one of my dictionaries. Such as in the analogy I have used for the title of this blog to imply there is a gun involved, (have you noticed a theme running through the last few posts?) or ‘draw the curtains’ or ‘draw in customers’…..the permutations are endless.
I ‘draw on nature’ metaphorically to take it in, soak it up like a dose of medicine. Then, by physically drawing what I see in front of me, I am, in effect, appropriating nature for my own ends.
My drawings are a form of visual shorthand. They are done very quickly so that I don’t have time to think about what I am doing as I scan the view. The action is a visual ‘freeze-frame’, a means of imprinting the image before me on my memory.
The process is sometimes selective, sometimes not so calculated. By drawing the landscape in its raw state, I am tapping into my own emotional response to it. The marks I make on the paper come from a deep place of consciousness within me.
These drawings here are a small selection that were done in one outing last week. I made 10 drawings altogether, none taking more than a few seconds to complete. More out of necessity than design as my elderly spaniel’s lead is looped around my wrist, with 4 other dogs free ranging…. not an ideal situation….but that is just how it is sometimes.
I am not concerned with judgements such as, is it a good composition or a bad drawing? What matters here is an integrity of spirit, a truthfulness to my feeling for the subject. The less aware of the marks I make, the better the outcome, and that can only be achieved by letting go of any preconceived ideas or judgments about the process.
This kind of consciousness is a state of meditation that I do not experience in any other form of activity, and I have found it to be the most nourishing and fulfilling for the soul. The subject matter in this case was an ancient village tucked away from normal view. I like to feel I am reaching into my inner being and instinctively connecting to the land in the way our ancestors may have connected to their environment. There is something primeval about the process.
