One Swallow Does Not a Summer Make
I have started painting freely again and working once more on some paper casting. It’s wet and cool again so the paper experiments take forever to dry. I am beginning to imagine how they might a) become interesting (to me) and b) related to my other work, painting specifically. I am most enjoying free drawing with paper on paper.
Thread and Paper on Paper
The paper on paper experiments are starting to take shape but I felt I yearned for some line or definition so I have been playing with thread. Thread doesn’t seem to have anything to do with composts or anything else but in my quest to worry less about neatly tied up work I am just doing it without thinking about it too much. They feel really good at the moment. I had some lovely, strong indigo thread and the paper pulp is a slightly silvery grey because of the soaking of the printing inks. I rather like it all visually, which I am allowing at this point.
Free Drawing with Paper on Paper
I have a more clear idea of how I want these to become than the other paper experiments: I am thinking about intuitive marks derived from drawing en plein air, specifically around Walkers’ Hill on the Pewsey Vale. The bones of the place whisper melancholic nothings to me. I would like to build up layers of paper pulp drawings to create a sort of relief of landscape drawing. They take so long to dry they will take ages making them all the more annoying if they don’t quite land where I want them to but c’est la vie. I have them placed on top of the tumble dryer and for once I am looking for excuses to put some laundry on…
Compost Humus Drawings
I lost interest in these. The idea was so great and had such momentum, I just disliked the outcome of the drawings - too tight and self conscious. So time to try again. I really liked the granulation of the humus and I liked the lumpiness of it, the organic smell even became a bit less repugnant.
One of the issues around materials made with derivatives of the compost heap are that they are all brown and sludgy, which I find visually unappealing. I love the use of bleach, pure white paper and indigo dyes - all of which seem unrelated to the CH, leaving me with the the option to combine new and recycled materials to provide a contrast. Such as shop bought watercolour paper as the substrate with recycled CH pulp used as the drawing material, which provides a cooler grey against the brown sludge. I quite like the combination but I find myself questioning the authenticity. The other possibility is to surrender to the dislike of the brown goo and bleach it all, weave it with indigo and make a virtue of the tension between those two things. The former feels a more natural way to go but visually might feel limited. I will of course try it all out and see how it all goes.
Mark Making
I am continuing to draw my internal and external landscapes. I like the marks I make, I didn’t used to. This feels like huge progress. I like my drawings on the whole, the process feels honest and the results are mostly OK.
I am learning to worry less when I have a creative dip. Just because I feel bad about my work for a while doesn’t mean the work is bad. Often I am tired, distracted, don’t have enough time, all the usual stuff. Steady the ship and just keep on making until it feels better.