Drawing as Exploration

Put the point of the pen down

somewhere in the upper left

corner of the paper, and move

your hand, leaving a mark, an angle,

a curve, a line that moves away

and then comes back to connect

with itself. So now there's a shape,

and that shape sets the direction

for the next, which must of necessity

be similar or different, larger or

smaller, closer or farther away.

Now there are two, now three,

now twenty. Along the way questions

arise. How long, for example, before

whatever patterns begun by accident

should by design be broken? How much

of the surface should be inked, how

much left white? How close to the edge?

What about the negative spaces?

Inking is another story, silent, automatic,

eye and hand in motion, mostly

without thought. Music can help

to mark the time, set the rhythm

and the feel. It will take longer

than you think. Often the pen tip

starts to fray, or the ink dries up.

Switch pens. A pen with a big tip

makes the work go faster, but

if your hand strays it's harder

to correct the mistake. Hold

your breath, pay attention, learn

to trust your hand. When

the drawing is done, touch up

the tiny white spots with a fine-

tipped pen, and you're done.

Step back and see what you've got.

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