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The Necessary Discomfort of Trying New Things: Drawing with Ink Droppers

1/23/2015

 
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I have a certain fear of heading toward photorealism in my drawing and painting.  At the same time I don't feel like super loose is the style I am wishing for either.  I like some stylization, but dislike cartoonish art.  I like lots of white and dreamy indistinctness in paintings, but at the same time I admire vivid color.

In other words, I have a lot of work ahead of me, finding a style that I am comfortable with.  And in order to get there I end up swinging from one discomfort to another.  In order to stretch myself out of my comfort zone, I am taking the year long course Year of the Spark with Carla Sonheim and Lynn Whipple.... in a way, another discomfort because almost all of my classmates love the whimsical... and although I am not humorless, and enjoy their offerings, my art always tends toward the serious. 

But Carla is careful about not making clones of herself, and I appreciate that.  And her class pushes me where I would not go otherwise.   The first class with Carla was all about experimenting with line quality of the different media I have on hand.  And I made a discovery.   I love drawing in ink, using the ink dropper.  It lends a spontaineity to the drawing that I crave.




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I used the ink drawing technique in the pair of paintings above, letting the ink drip as I drew.  I thought about covering the drips as I painted, but decided to keep them as they seemed to go well with the psychological sensation of going through fire and flood.  Still, this style is a bit looser and "messier" than I want my typical style to be.


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Here, in "Sweet Violets"  I drew with ink  first but let it dry flat before painting to prevent dripping.  I like this painting a lot... It feels like "me" but with room for growth! 

I appreciate those of you who are willing to follow me on my journey.... who don't mind my seriousness, and who are willing to watch my vascillations as I reach to define and refine my style.

And to my fellow creatives... don't be afraid to go where you will be a little uncomfortable!  It may be just what you need to grow.





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All original images and text © 2017 by Donna M. Buchanan.
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