When I gaze at clouds, it seems that a brain switch flips and allows me to suddenly see dogs racing across the sky or sheep grazing in a field. The same thing happens when I doodle thousands of tiny ink lines on paper. When I stop and let my eyes wander around the random field, […]
The art process can lead an artist into unexpected byways. An innocent contemplation of harvesting autumn fruit took me in a surprising direction. The end of summer means ripening fruit on the trees and expanding squashes, like pumpkins, on the vines. As they reach maturity, I become excited. Harvesting yellow and orange squashes, red apples,
Autumn Maple II is a contrast in random movement and pattern. Although the tree seems to blow in the wind, if the viewer looks closely, repetitious designs emerge. The curving trunk shows stripes that angle upward. The green grass background features a variety of motifs. The blue-gray sky above seems to be comprised of tiny
I love the purple blossomed jacaranda tree (pronounced “ha ka ran da”). I’ve enjoyed it in warm parts of the U.S.: southern California, Arizona, southern Nevada, Hawaii. It also thrives along the Gulf of Mexico border. My ink drawing, Jacaranda, depicts my adoration of this tree in several ways. On the trunk, I show long
I love to draw with ink, any kind, from ordinary ballpoint pens to soft paintbrushes that I dip in rainbow colors. When I start, I use black or blue ink, making free-form energetic scribbles. As I stare at the abstract field of looping lines, I envision a design. To emphasize this image, I cut away
In X Buddhas, I combined ink drawing with collage. I superimposed a photograph of a black Buddha statue in front of the larger white seated shape. I placed these two on top of a background of tiny hand-drawn ink lines. The ink backdrop was darker and denser at the top and lighter at the bottom,
Clouds Low is an ink drawing that depicts people meditating in nature. The left figure sits among boulders. She consists of multiple layers: the white outline, an off-white area inside the outline and an inner space with tightly drawn ink lines. When I meditate, I feel an outer level, symbolized by the outline, that is
When I meditate, I feel as though I drift through various mental levels. Closest to ordinary experience, I observe thoughts that arise and fall away. When I’m more relaxed, I perceive colors moving in interior space and I delight in watching them with my inner eye. In a deeper calm, I feel a tingly electric
In Desert Mirage, two shapes are positioned near each other. I create a highly textured surface with many tiny ink lines to maximize a sense of energy in the shimmering air around them, similar to the visual movement inherent in a mirage in an arid land. The top form seems stationary, while the object below
In my ink drawings about meditation, I attempt to depict what I feel when I meditate. In Pattern/Map Meditation, I illustrate both my inner and outer realities. The lighter ochre and lavender ink swirls in the outermost areas depict the gentle dynamics I perceive in my larger environment, vibrant with a hint of order in
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