Hatched leaf_pen3

Pen on paper
15cm x 22cm

The impulse to draw overcame me, and I was determined to further develop my hatching-in-pen skills! The final three drawings for VAR25 are the outcome of the battle to overcome the challenge of the ink , combined with the desire to create intriguing and evocative drawings of my still life subject.

The hatching exercise caused me to observe detail and tone even more closely using a ‘top-down’ approach of comparative observation across the whole; see how even the slightest tonal variations create form, how this is further heightened by the mark-making / hatching direction, and experience how the visual music comes together on the paper – from my own eyes and hands! It still seems pretty miraculous… an experience that I will cherish always, and repeat often probably for the rest of my life. I think I have learned more about the characteristics of leaves through drawing them, than could ever be taught any other way.