Finding a great line…
It’s the starting point, what makes larger, more complicated work possible. And those works could not be conceived without occasional reveling in the joy of finding a great line.
How is it that we can so often pick out figures and faces in the world around us? It’s uncanny. The most successful work happens when a line, two lines work to define the human figure. The human condition rendered in that sparseness. It can lead to greater, more complicated things — but there’s something compelling and precious in those initial sparse lines.
Figurative drawing is the source material — the base line inspiration for so much of my work. The way a curve of a fine line opens up into shadow and light — inexplicably imbued as human, by observation, by the moment. It’s an incredible connection that still fills me with intense interest and curiosity.
Black pastel. Rich paper. A fat eraser. The most primitive yet reliable of the many tools, mediums and devices I use to make art. They’re also the most reassuring in their spare pleasure.
