There's a drawing "call for entry" that I want to apply for so I've been rather productive these last few days. I took a week off work just to concentrate on a personal theme (mustaches). I'm having fun and the caran d'ache renderings are pouring out freely. Caran d'ache Neocolor II is incredibly flexible, it can resemble a charcoal drawing (without the messiness, inhalation of dust particles or storage problems that come with charcoal), or a watercolour image when diluted with water. It doesn't like erasers though.
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| Le poilu (The Hairy One) |
My first drawing began as a large doodle of an imaginary man who became decidedly hairy.
I don't generally make pretty
art. Everything tends to be a bit tense or edgy.
Once in a while I churn out something romantic, but I always feel uneasy
or uncomfortable with the result. I'm not sure why, perhaps some muffled flashbacks are flitting about my neurons.
My inventory of drawings and paintings might not be quite so voluminous if I made more accessible work, but
as they say en français, "c'est plus fort que moi".
I have the sensibilities of a satirist, not unlike the political cartoonist who routinely churns out visuals to comment on absurdities in the world. I however, don't have an audience who is used to a regular torrent, nor is someone paying me a survival salary to draw.
My venues are galleries and exhibition spaces. I invariably hear..."what were you thinking?"
I wish I knew....
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| Le politicien (The Politician) |
I thoroughly researched my penchant for visual humour during the writing of my masters thesis, and I was certain that I had all the answers.
Now I'm not so sure.
I love to laugh and erupt into giggle fits at least once a day (not by myself by the way). So why is my art not pure whimsy? Where does the hint of darkness come from?
Art that is overtly aggressive is effective in many cases, but as a viewer, I don't necessarily want to be hit over the head with a hammer. A shocking message that is barely palatable will create an impact, but also add to the angst of living. Way too painful for this old soul.
I like nuance, subtlety, something that allows me to think and feel in manageable bites. Give me emotions that are disguised, wrapped as imaginative gifts, and haltingly revealed as the umbilical curlicue bow is untied or painfully cut.
As a viewer of art, give me something to slowly chew on, to contemplate.
As a maker of art, let me make you smile throughout the entire ruminating process.
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