Unbound Art

One of my favorite design exercises starts by drawing a simple design (you can see the trials above) and then after one is chosen, I divide the composition into sections. In the examples below, the design gets increasingly complex as the composition is divided in half and then in half again, and so on. It's always a gamble as to how far to go. Sometimes the original design is the best, but if you choose a composition as I did, that you don't like very much, then it opens up new possibilities and new relationships between line and shapes. This design incorporates the grid in the horizontal and vertical divisions. You can also see that leaving space between the sections adds another element of line. the first ink drawing divided in half and rearranged divided into 4 sections divided into 8 sections By the time you get this many pieces, 16 shapes, you have quite a design puzzle. What's next?   I could keep arranging, looki...

I usually start with a very loose sketch, improvising as I go, but often the composition doesn't change radically after this stage. I work mostly on developing the value range and details after that.

Many Worlds, One Species Please view new drawings at Kim's  website , www.kimschrag.com.

The whole view - Down the Drain

I enjoy finding these characters in the drawings after the composition is done.  I don't really plan the characters, they seems to emerge on their own. I thought you might enjoy seeing them up close, since you don't have the original.

speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil

With all that is going on in the world, sometimes I feel that I am losing what used to feel solid - the ground of my existence.  Now I find myself questioning what that means.  What is the ground?  Losing Our Ground graphite on paper Kim Schrag, 2017 These drawings are 22x30" on Stonehenge paper. Here are a few close-up crops to see the details better.  You can also get a better view by clicking on the image.