I have toyed with the idea of creating a web page dedicated to drawing for some time and here it is. . . It will be a long journey and I look forward to sharing my thoughts and drawings.
The concept is to only showcase my very latest work – I.e. drawings made from 13.09.26 onwards. Since my early days at art college, I have been interested in exploring new ways of working and experimenting with new materials, techniques and processes.
In the western world, most of us have a reasonable understanding of what a drawing is – or do we ?
My aim with this page is to challenge preconceived notions and come up with my own definition. I draw every day and most of my pieces are realistic or figurative, however, I will also experiment with abstraction as it can be liberating to be free of the constraints of realism . There are often some passages (parts) in my drawings, that when seen in isolation could be described as quite abstract. Some parts of the drawings might be detailed and technically accurate whilst other areas are expressive and lively, some are bold whilst others very delicate.
Certain materials facilitate expressive approaches for example, soft pastels and charcoal, whereas others such as HB pencils and technical pens are more suitable for academic approaches. I aim to share drawings made with a variety of media and drawings that cross boundaries. Some paintings could be described as drawings and vice versa. In addition I will be using unconventional media – for example home made ink and quill pens etc. Over the years, I have enjoyed experimenting with techniques used by Renaissance artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael. By contrast I will also look at contemporary drawing and attempt to discover new ways of working. . .
My first drawing breaks my first rule of only posting new drawings but I have never liked rules The sketch was made with willow charcoal and compressed charcoal and smudged with a tortillon (smudging stick).
Sometimes drawings are a means to an end – stages in a process. This charcoal study was one of a series created as visual research for a painting. I did not use any photographic reference and the image was from my imagination.
Detail of “Deben Lines” wet and dry media exploring line and tone. Copyright Chris N Wood 15.09.26 charcoal, graphite, Lamy fountain pen, Quink ink etc
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