Monday, December 1, 2008

Abstractions

I have said I often get things in my head and I must do things to get them out. One night last week I woke up and had these line faces in my brain. I knew if I did not draw them, I would not get back to sleep . Does your art keep you awake or wake you from sleep?I ended up drawing about 10 of them before I could put the sketchbook down. As you can see, they are nothing but very quick line drawings which were quite simplified.
They are just ink on sketchbook paper. I know I will make more of these, and I have no idea what will come from them. The thing is this is kind of different for me in a way. I was thinking about abstractions and abstract paintings. Some paintings come purely from emotions. As you know I love doing those a great deal and they mean a lot to me. Other abstractions are simplifications of recognizable images. Clearly, we can find examples of a combination of these abstract techniques, but I am wondering if you are attracted to one form of abstraction or another? Do you find you gain more, personally, from one form of abstraction over another?

I still have these faces in my head and you will probably see more of them. Andrea keeps encouraging me to keep my sketchbook going on a daily basis. Often I will mire myself into greater detail when I sketch, so this might be something I am exploring to keep this sketching going on a more regular basis. Do you sketch each day? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Happy Monday to Everyone!

12 comments:

Elis Cooke said...

Hi Kim
I think we need to follow the muse, even if s/he is waking us up in the middle of the night lol! these line drawings, though simple are quite evocative... who knows where they will take you! I don't sketch as regularly as I should either, there's just too many fun things to try to fit into a day! namaste Elisl.

Andrea and Kim said...

Hi Elis,

You just never know when that old muse is going to pay you a visit, right? Evocative? Wow, you know how to pump up my head! :) Thank you!

I have no idea where I will go with these, but I am interested to explore them.

Now that is a good way to put it...there are just too many fun things to do in a day. I love it!

Thanks Elis, your insights are always so appreciated here and so thoughtful.

~Babs said...

I am always drawn to abstractions that are multi-layered.

It's interesting that your sketches have their eyes closed, as in sleep.
Do they all? When you sketch in the daytime,,,,do your faces have eyes open?

I rarely sketch,,I mean just for the sake of sketching,,,,but always I'm looking for a pen/pencil while on the phone. Lots of doodle sketches appear then.

I often sketch a very rough 'map' of where I think I'm going,,,on the canvas before painting,,,,but sketching in a journal, or daily,,,nope, although I'm sure I probably should,,,,,,,

Andrea and Kim said...

Hi Babs,

Yes, I like the depth of multi-layering, too.

Yes, they all have their eyes closed and all are very similar. This was fast stuff and will probably remain fast. I guess they are more contemplative faces :)

You know Cris was showing a drawing she did while on the phone. I am not sure I can do that as it seems talking takes a lot of my attention. I can listen and doodle, though. It is interesting to contemplate.

Well there you sure are ahead of me, Babs. I rarely know where a canvas is going to take me and I usually only have an idea of maybe colors. My canvases usually have lots of layers...ones you don't see. :)

Thanks Babs. Have a Wonderful Day.

Unknown said...

Kim these are amazing and they are pure expression, just with these few thin lines you manage to express peace and serenity, meditation, chanting, always peaceful because yet concentrated, this is what the closed eyes say to me. Thanks for sharing these, I think they are all the more special cause night brought them up:)

The Abstraction question, I don't know, I'll have to think about that. But sketching, I think for me sketching is company, healing even, therapie and preparation of something bigger too, paintings which perhaps will never see the canvas or the paper, but I feel them always as basic lines of something bigger .

Love this post
have a great day
Andrea

Andrea and Kim said...

Hi Andrea,

You know, that is just the way they felt doing them...pure expression. Yes! Of course, I really like the simplicity which seems to speak to me. I keep thinking of lines lately...although I am not painting them. Odd, but whatever, you know?

And I think the sketchbook is a lot like therapy and brings a comfort. I have to say I do enjoy carrying it around with me. Tee Hee

You are the master of a sketchbook being there just as a sketchbook not as a working place. I adore that a lot. In some way, all we do is a small part of something larger, don't you think? At least I think many artist (or maybe women) lead their lives as interconnected rather than in a straight line. Of course, the straight line guy hangs out at my house and I am guessing one hangs out at your house, too!

You have me thinking here, again, Andrea! Thanks!

San said...

Interesting post, Kim. I remember I went through a period several years ago of waking up at about 3 a.m. and needing to go downstairs, sit, and have tea. Purportedly, intuition peaks at around 3 or 4 in the morning and yes, your art does seem to be intuition-driven. I would say my art is like that too. The imagery comes from some other place, often not a recognizable place.

By the way, I finally got around to doing the tag you assigned me.

Andrea and Kim said...

Hello San!

Yes I clearly would say your painting is intuitively driven. My guess is you live your life by your intuition. Who is it that said if you don't listen to your intuition it will stop talking to you? Anyway, that makes sense to me. I had not heard that about intuition peaking at 3 or 4 in the morning...so that is the thing with me waking up all the time. Mmmm - as always you give me something else to think about.

Oh boy, now I can't wait to head over and visit your blog. Your writing is like a vacation and a head trip all in one!

Thanks San!

Lynette said...

These are wonderful Kim and I think it's amazing how much feeling and expression can be conveyed in line drawings like this. Yes, I know what you mean about seeing the images in your head. I admit I don't keep a sketchbook, but should. I usually see the image I want to paint in my head first just like you did.

Andrea and Kim said...

Hello My Nighttime Friend!

You know Lynette, I have always struggled to sketch abstractly, but I think that is because I always tried to create them as contour drawings rather than line drawings. You are right, though, line drawings can give a lot of expression and feeling. I think I will focus more on sketchbook work...not to mention I like the feeling of a drawing tool moving across the paper. :)

Andrea has been working on me a lot about the sketchbook and I am really slow to warm up to it. I believe some of that comes from my need to sketch in a bubble and not in a great place to have that each day. Maybe this winter is a good time to work on a sketchbook.

Oh those things that will not leave our head.

Thanks Lynette!

marianne said...

O yes creative ideas can keep me from sleeping. waking me up in the middle of the night and they seem so important them, to loose sleep over.......... And in the morning I can`t see what was so important, the importancy seems more like a dream. But I do think a lot of creative ideas are made in dreams )or in an other state of consiousness.
Wonder what these faces are trying to tell you Kim! And where they will lead you to........

take care!

Andrea and Kim said...

Hi Marianne,

You know since San said intuition peaks about 3 to 4 in the morning, I have been thinking how that waking time is probably related to me needing to focus more on my creativity in my waking hours to maybe get a better night's sleep! Do you think that would help? :)

Dreaming is a tremendous thing. I often think I love to sleep because I want the nighttime movie. :)

I am not sure what these faces are trying to help me to understand. I honestly can't get my arms around that, but keep returning to the images. Sometimes one covers a page and other times a lot of small ones do that. Do you have any ideas of what it all might mean?

Thanks Marianne...you always give me wonderful things to consider. I honestly appreciate that a lot.