December 31, 2024

A conversation with a pencil

When I pick up a pencil and make a mark on paper, it begins – a conversation. The mark left behind is a prompt to myself; where should the next mark go? And, as mark begets mark, a drawing emerges, and, as a drawing emerges, so does new thinking.

Nine times out of ten, these drawings don’t go further, at least not immediately. But sometimes they take flight and turn into something I could never have predicted in advance. The drawings that take flight are an emergent thing – they arise from the doing. Do nothing, and nothing arises.

So, pick up a pencil now, make some marks, and see what it’s trying to tell you.

Other observations
September 29, 2026

I feel like drawing flowers

When you feel like drawing flowers, but someone will pay you to draw monkeys, what comes first?

September 8, 2026

No shortcuts

You may be able to find a tool or technique to make a process or drawing more efficient. A digital camera show the photographer the result of their work quicker than a film camera, but it doesn’t make the photo better or the photographer more competent. One still needs to understand tone, colour and composition… Continue reading No shortcuts

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