Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Close-up of Current Horse Drawing: "Dust and Thunder"


Now that the holidays are in the rear view mirror and my son has recently gone back to college, I have returned to the herd of galloping horses that generated so much angst for me when I last worked on them.  This work-in-progress has been given the working title, and possibly the final title, of Dust and Thunder.

In a past post I've mentioned that I continue to learn to draw, simply by drawing -- and this piece has given that fact new meaning.  You may recall the tremendous anxiety I experienced early in this drawing's process, given the differences from my usual style.  I have tended to feel more comfortable with subject matter that is viewed from a close-up perspective, and has clearly defined details and textures.  Dust and Thunder on the other hand, is about ambiguous shapes and values, soft edges, a rather tricky source of back-lighting, and lots of dust!......(which is yet to be revealed, as most of it will be laid in after the entire drawing is completed.)  In addition, the viewpoint is that of a landscape -- a first for me.

There have been many times I felt lost trying to navigate my way through this drawing: it seemed as if I simply did not know how to put one foot in front of the other.  More than once I wondered if I would have to give up on it.  But when I returned several days ago to finishing off the values of the two greys in the image, I no longer seemed plagued by the difficulties I was previously having with it.  Maybe I just stuck with it long enough.........or maybe I simply needed the break from it that I took out of necessity after the loss of my mother............or maybe recent events have helped to lend a degree of perspective of sorts, about what really is problematic in life -- and what is not.  Or maybe.............

Whatever the reason(s), I'm grateful for the learning -- and it feels good to be back in the saddle again, so to speak.  A happy, productive New Year to everyone.  Thanks for reading.  

11 comments:

  1. Nice to see this again. Sometimes the break we need from a piece comes in unexpected ways, along with new outlooks.

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  2. Well said, Michael; and so true. Thanks.

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  3. OMG I'd forgotten this one.

    Its quite stunning - even unfinished so I'm happy that you've got back to work on it and look forward to seeing the final stages

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  4. Thanks for your kind words, Sue: it'd been so long, I'd nearly forgotten it too! : )

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  5. Just wonderful Lynda. It is a winner.

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  6. Wow Lynda, this piece has come a long way! It's great to see you're back at work in your studio now that you've found the space. I think maybe your difficulties, as you summed up so well, are all those things and more. I think sometimes we dive in and tackle something more than we think we can handle. . . and end up doing it!

    I find in my own work that I often feel I've bitten off more than I can handle and experience many bouts of anxiety on the way. But ultimately that's a good thing, because otherwise we would always be working within our own comfort levels.

    I'm really looking forward to seeing this drawing develop.

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  7. Thanks so much, Gary. : )

    Debbi, I think what you wrote has alot of validity. I have thought the same thing: and tackling something with very little detail is definitely outside of my comfort zone. Thanks.

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  8. I can feel the rumble all the way over here in Ayrshire :) It's coming along beautifully and I agree with everyone there are times when you just have to leave a piece alone and then come back to it with fresh eyes. Looking forward to the next update :)

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  9. So true, Elizabeth. In retrospect I think I needed 'fresh eyes' more badly than I realized: I kept threatening to put it away for awhile, but would not do so until circumstances forced me to. (Another learning experience!)

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  10. Very dramatic piece. I was hoping you would get back to developing this one. It will be another beauty!

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  11. Hey Barb, thanks......this one is proving to be a slow-goer (even more so than most, haha), but thats okay; I have much to learn from its process.

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