For warm ups recently, I’ve been loving sketches where I don’t pick up my pen from start to finish. It started as a way to add more risk and expressive qualities to digital pieces, and get the gears going at a time where multiple commissions are coming due — pressure is on. This time of year is also transitional, moving from past-paced summer into intentional + personal reflection of fall; integrating some highly personal work to daily routine has been helpful in maintaining my presence as more repetitive finishes are required on complicated works. It’s nice to just let things flow on something specifically for me before pouring my heart into something for someone else.
The warm up turned into a habit, and is now begging to be pushed further. This can happen from time to time when I hone a style and get entrenched in how far it can communicate concepts. In a moment of indulgence, I decided to really let loose, take some risks, and develop aesthetic into a large scale piece for a friend. It was so much freaking fun, and not like much work I’ve shared publicly in the past where I focus intently on depth, detail, and tangibility. Nope, this was all feeling, ethereal, dreamy vibes hinting at a sense of place — not enough to put you back there, but more like the memory of it swirling and morphing in the back of your daydreams.
Even as a departure, I kind of love it. 24” x 36” — another indulgence for simplistic practice and single toned work. It needed to be bold, like we all need to be from time to time when our patterns hold us back.