I already know this but it begs repeating – one does not always have an idea to draw, but one should probably draw anyway. Mark making, in any form, has an unusual but reliable way of feeding itself. One mark begets another, and another. It’s from this that ideas emerge.
Lately, I’ve been in a slump. Maybe it was COVID but I’ve just been unsure about what to draw. Feeling guilty, I picked up a pencil and begun making doodles – just circles and lines after circles and lines. I began without a direction let alone a destination and, despite an hour of messing about, walked away fairly uninspired – except for a few simple lines.
A few days later, I looked back over the work with the intention of ripping it up and throwing it out but those few simple lines caught my attention.
I’m not sure why, but there was something about the awkwardness of a character that emerged from that aimless session that I found interesting.
From these few lines ran a thread of thought – how would this character look in the various other yoga poses that exist? And, from a question, ran a small project.
Her body shape and ‘normal’ level of flexibility, combined with the challenge of drawing someone like this in enough of a balance (although not too effortless), became a fun half-day of drawing and, because of the momentum, I’m ready to go again tomorrow.
I don’t know how many times I have to write these words in various different ways for it to sink in but it seems to be that, more often than not, ideas emerge from the work, not the other way around.