I am back from 2 ½ weeks in Northern California – drawing almost every day in my “outside studio” on a brick patio right next to a tributary of the Russian River under a beautiful mountain. It was wonderful to work outside, though a little clumsy for this fairly technical India ink method I am using. I am “drawing from” some of the images from my performative work in Portugal over the last 3 years. These performative photographs shot by Luís Branco were all taken outdoors – on a mountaintop, in a deep ravine, in a lake, by a river, in a ruined mill, etc. I relate the photographic images and the abstract drawings I am making to some of the I-Ching imagery and hexagrams. Most of the hexagrams in the I-Ching are related to archetypal landscapes and elements. The I-Ching relates emotion and spirit to these elementary landscapes (and I do too).

I want to do a lot more of this size drawing at 20” x 16” and perhaps go back to the larger size paper I have been using too at 41” x 29”. The drawing process is a little finicky and takes some time but I love the India ink and the palette I have chosen. I am using black, silver, gold, blue and red inks and very little graphite.

The photographic images shown with the drawings are small prints (10” x 8”) the “real” prints are much larger 48” x 32”. Maybe someday I will exhibit the drawings and the large performative photographs together… but for now I just want to keep drawing.

 

A blue tailed lizard got caught in my silver paint dish, I got him out and I hope he makes it, I think this image will become a drawing someday soon…

I threw the I – Ching hexagram Tui – Two Lakes last September just before I went to Portugal to work on a series in the water and landscapes of Portugal. I think this image below that Luís Branco took in a high mountain lake is beautiful.

I am “drawing from it” in the drawing below. I would like to make this drawing in the big size 29″ x 41″, I think it would be stunning. In fact most of these drawings are like preparatory sketches for bigger drawings.

The black and white image below was taken by Luís Branco on my first trip to Portugal in 2015. It was taken on the top of Evoramonte mountain. I think this image is very much about feminine power and creativity. I relate this image to the first image in the I-Ching which is Ch’ien and relates Heaven with The Creative.

This is the last drawing I made on Saturday in California. I like the spareness of this line drawing.

The drawing (and performative photograph) below relates to the second hexagram in the I-Ching – Kun/ The Receptive, Earth and to the beautiful performative photograph Luís Branco took at the magical Pego do Sino (Canyon of the Bells) in 2016.

It was wonderful to get back to a drawing practice and one that is related to the landscape and to have such a beautiful environment to work in. Thanks to my dear Cydney for setting up this opportunity for us, she also gots lots of work done plus we had plenty of lovely conversations and meals together and Kevin and some friends came to visit too…