Topographical drawing resulting from abstract two-handed drawing. Human-made structures are drawn in tandem with flattened hills, mountains, and peaks. My right-handed holds a brush pen to create the outline of buildings, walls, and pathways. In my left hand, is a blue felt-tipped pen that draws the changes in elevation.
Two separate ideas. Yet originating from the same theme. A conversation between two subjects, or the artist talking with themself?
The process is akin to playing piano. Each hand is acting independently, but they are aware of each other, taking cues from one another, it is a drawing process that Bach would appreciate. Two voices creating harmony of their own volition. One line (on the page or in music) doesn’t simply “support” the other. There is no accompaniment in the usual sense. It is visual counterpoint. A fugue made into a drawing exercise.
But there is also an improvisatory element to this process. There is an excitement in not knowing where the composition will go yet having an almost instinctual ability to find a logical path to the conclusion. A Fantasia in blue and black ink (b-flat minor). An idea is developed over the surface of the paper, one hand creates a visual subject, and the other line imitates or responds. The truth of the work comes from the process; it lives fully in the moment of its creation. Similarly, music and sound only exist in their instantaneous perception and fading.
What I have presented are only the remnants of my experimentation and not the actual process itself. A better representation of this work would be to record the act of drawing and then have it disappear from view upon completion. However, I’m not seeking to translate music into a drawing, merely adopting certain aspects into the practice.
The process of drawing differently is the focus of inquiry, not the final composition. While the resulting abstract forms of line may be fascinating, it is more so the physical, mental, and emotional act of drawing that I wish to investigate further.