Innerworlds

I've been working for several months on a series of black-and-white semi-abstract drawings. Each is about 8' x 10". This weekend I added two more to the ten I already had completed. When I got done with them I added them to iPhoto and happened to notice that there was an export function that allows me to put together a Quicktime video of the slide show with music. (The music is Ozzie Kotani playing "Moanalua," from his CD To Honor a Queen, on which he plays lovely slack-key versions of songs written by Queen Lili'uokalani.) Here's the video:

Working on these drawings has become a kind of meditation practice for me. I do not normally plan them out in advance, but work them out in the making, one move leading to another.   I'm not sure how they are going to turn out until they are done. But it's turned out to be a satisfying way to work. There are a couple of operational "rules" that I've imposed upon myself, one being the overall format and another being the  high-contrast black/white aspect, no half tones or shading or crosshatching. Each one winds up taking between five and ten hours to complete.

(Having posted this, I notice there's a glitch with the video: the first picture shows up only briefly and then there are ten seconds of black screen at the end. But you get the idea.)