In The Pines

Froelick Gallery- May 2015

Branches and flowers tend to take over my drawing table – it catches the overflow from the plants I pin to the wall. The drawing currently in progress is surrounded by piles of pine branches. I’ve been examining the texture and bending of the pine branches, looking closely at how the needles attach, the angles at which they emerge, and how they look when layered behind one another. I moved from the city to the country this past year and am now surrounded by more space, more pines and thorny trees, and more snow. I am creating a mental inventory of the plants in the area, so I know where to find that certain rosehip or a pine with shorter than average needles if I need them for a composition.

I am particularly enamored with lines in nature. They describe forms and surfaces with a calligraphic elegance. On a larger scale, lines delineate the boundaries of land, whether it is natural or imposed like a stream cutting through a forest or a wire fence between two fields.

This body of work is drawn primarily on a collection of Japanese papers, as well as some other unique handmade papers. I apply sizing, and sometimes dye to the paper, to create a surface amenable to drawing with a quill nib. My favorite inks include a variety of sumi inks because I like their high pigment content and Rohrer & Klingner calligraphy inks.