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September 23, 2004
not writing a letter
Writing a letter, you start at the top of the page with your address, then: Dear SoAndSo, then progress down the page, to the conclusion and: yours sincerely… Then it’s all envelopes and stamps.
Strangely enough, painting and drawing are not like that.
You don’t start at the top and work down until it’s finished, well I don't anyway.
Painting and drawing are more like developing a photograph. If you haven’t done it, the old fashioned way, with a developing tray and, well, developer, you must have seen it in the movies. The paper slips under the clear fluid, the tray is rocked gently to wash the chemicals over the surface of the paper. Then, slowly, in the dim red light, an image begins to appear; faint at first, but getting stronger. But, and here’s the key to the analogy, not at the top and getting stronger as it goes down but: all over. The whole image comes up together.
That’s what you are aiming for in a drawing or painting, bring your image out of the paper all at once, from faint marks to full contrast, without the chemicals and dim red light, obviously, but then again whatever does it for you.
Posted by john at September 23, 2004 12:31 PM
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