Mixed Media

So, it's been a while. Break left me with a lot to think about and even more to do, and with that in mind I started some new drawings, which have transformed into partial paintings in a sense. Here are the drawings, which I spent about three or so hours on:

So far I have only worked on top of the natural dying treatment I did to the paper, but I plan to go back into one or all of the drawings and add more dye where I see fit. I want to deepen the amount of space I can create, and I think this might add the dynamism that I need to really push these drawings into the place I want them to be.

In addition to these new experimental drawings, I decided to try and paint on one of my sewn paper projects before I draw on it. My midterm committee brought up the valid point that the stitching brings the viewers' attention to the surface of the paper, disrupting the visual illusions of volume and space that I have been creating. I see where they are coming from, so I decided to see if the added color might distract from the sewing and bring the eye back into the field of depth I like to create. Here is the paper dyed, which took me an hour or so. Next week/this weekend I plan to draw on it:

I also went on a supply shopping day, picking up some different papers to try out, just to keep my options open, along with gesso and sandpaper that my midterm review committee suggested I check out. I have yet to use these new materials, but plan to start working on them next week in addition to continuing my current drawings. It's a long, constantly evolving processm, but if I keep pushing forward I think the end result will be satisfying.

Lastly, as suggested by the committee, I spent a couple hours this week absorbed in the paintings and methods of Thomas Lyon Mills, who I am happy to say is absolutely fascinating. His paintings/drawing are inspired by the Italian catacombs, where he is the only non-archaelogist allowed to roam about freely, and his use of mixed media and the organic liveliness he captures in his paintings are inspiring to say the least. Check it out:

With that in mind, I leave you with a beautiful quote of his (which happens to reference maps, just like my work! I'm liking this guy more and more...)

"Like mapmakers, we draw and paint what we observe, but find our drawings inevitably cross over into the unknown, for, like maps, they are never truly, wholly accurate, never allowing for shifting points of view, or even the necessity of dreams.

This then, is our region – where the visible and invisible meet, where the observed and the intuitive lie side by side, and where the seen pays a constant debt to the unseen."

images and quote from http://www.luiserossgallery.com/mills.html