Aug 22, 2009
Painting with Holes
The other night I had an idea for a drawing in mind, but only the basic shape. I assumed I’d start drawing and it would progress naturally from there, as usually happens. I laid out the initial idea, but then I wasn’t sure how I wanted to proceed. I didn’t like any deliberate notion of how to continue that I came up with, so I left it for later.
The next night I decided that I’d like to add some subtle watercolor texture to the background to make the drawn shapes stand out. As I worked, I realized that the idea in my head wasn’t coming to fruition, so I just went where the paint wanted to take me.
When I was finished and happy with the painting, I surveyed the overall result and realized that the drawing and the painting didn’t harmonize at all. Far from subtle, the background texture had become the dominant part of the composition, and the drawing only muddled its impact. In another moment of “acting before thinking” I cut out the drawn parts with my xacto knife.
In retrospect, I should have photographed more in progress shots, but as it is, I only have the two “end products” to show.
the painting with holes:
plus a detail of the painting:
and of course the cut out drawings, arranged in a pattern:
I like the cutouts quite a lot, but I’m not sure exactly what to do with the painting with holes in it. I feel like I should take it another step or two, but I’m not sure in which direction. Perhaps I’ll wait for inspiration to strike, since it seems letting something sit for a day or two leads to good things.