I Drown In The Fern

Poet, painter and podcaster Phillip J. Mellen @phillip.j.mellen asked me to collaborate with him on a project involving his poetry and my drawings. 

I sent Phillip a drawing and he wrote a poem instigated by it. You can see it on his blog here All Systems Nervous.  

He sent me poems to choose from and to use as impetus to make a drawing. I chose I DROWN IN THE FERN. This poem is light and verdant at the same time, living and dying. Time passes and still there is return.

I've posted my collaboration below. Thanks Phillip for reaching out. It was great to work with you, let's do it again in the New Year.

Explore and Seek

Drawing 
Seems I've come to the end of something and something new is beginning, or I'm circling back somewhere. Ever since finishing the website (since my last post I updated my website with recent paintings) I've been concentrating on drawing.

I've made a lot drawings over the years. I may create a separate site for some of them. Recently there are a lot of medium size self portraits in ink and chalk and there are sketch books of self portraits, landscape and still life drawings ..like thoughts on paper in pencil.

There are small coloured ink drawings of flowers in various stages of living and dying, in bottles and jars.

Drawing on myself
A series of drawings has evolved in ink on mylar, self portraits that are not self portraits. I'm using myself as a convenient model to draw from life, and draw from photographs (you should see the number of photos I've taken of myself with my Mac's photo booth program. I alternately work from them and from life).

Photo booth capturing

I'm combining drawings of the plants in various stages of living and dying with the portraits. It took awhile to come to this decision to combine in this way.

Drawing on others
Recently I saw the Giacometti show at the Vancouver Art Gallery. I was struck by how he focused in so many drawings on one aspect, drawing and redrawing that aspect and leaving a lot of slightly drawn and unworked area. I don't work that way but I am drawn to it as an example of artists who explore and seek through drawing. At the same time there was a Rauschenberg show in a nearby gallery space. His combines, especially those on silk, were wonderful. I work a lot on mylar and that work of his left a mark too, opened my mind to possibilities.

Rauschenberg at the Vancouver Art Gallery

Giacometti

This series, as illustrated with the woman with plants above, is pulling me along.

Stepping into another stream

Meantime, as usual, I have another stream going. When I'm on the road, which is a lot, I want to make work based on my experience in nature. I've been doing some drawings. When I saw a hiker I follow on Youtube (I follow several hikers and campers and the like) who makes watercolours with a tiny postcard size pad and water brushes on her hikes I got excited to try this and I did. You can see them and my drawings if you follow me on Instagram @roadtrip.painting.