Scribble Drawings 2017 – 2019
18” x 24” graphite, colored pencil and acrylic paint on paper
These drawings are literally created by scribbling, a technique appreciated by professional draftsmen and doodlers alike. Here, my technique in scribbling is to move a pencil on the paper with very small strokes, over and over, holding on to the same pattern or texture. Changing the pressure put on the pencil will create darker or lighter patterns. With enough density in the number of strokes, the marks disappear and the drawing reads like a continuous tone and a quality of light. Drawing in this way is like a meditation and deep concentration is necessary to keep an even pressure and consistent stroke on the pencil for long periods of time.
I mention light. Perhaps my two most favorite qualities in the natural world are transparency and translucency. My next favorite quality is opacity, particularly when included to heighten the experience of transparency and translucency. These qualities are, of course, found in the mental/spiritual world as well which is often a goal of meditation practice. These are the qualities that I want these drawings to evoke as much as their composition
When I have a basic idea for an arrangement of forms, a composition for a scribble drawing, I outline them with very light lines. I then may apply diluted acrylic paint and/or some lines in colored pencil. Then I begin the scribbling normally using 4 or 5 different pencils of different degrees of hardness and tone. The texture of the scribbling brings forms forward or pushes them back or allows one to see through a form or several forms. The scribbling is also a modeling device to create three- dimensionality in the forms.
