There is a Vitality

In trying to decide what sort of quote to do for our monoline romans exercise (with the dreaded B2 nib), I found myself looking to this: a wonderful piece of advice from famed choreographer Agnes DeMille to modern dance legend Martha Graham. It speaks to the importance of artists being able to find a way through self doubt; to let go of judgement and allow the work to speak for itself. Great words of wisdom for us all.

In finding my way through this project, I decided I could have a little fun with it by adding whimsical tromp l'oeil effects as I worked, painting the things that were scattered about my drafting table, including the yellow "post-it" notes.

One of the hardest things to capture was my John Neal gridded practice pad! Yikes!The piece is done on a leftover portion of elephant-sized Arches hot press watercolor paper in a variety of values of blue, blue-violet and violet. The wine stain is painted in watercolor and, yes, for authenticity I was forced to try the full spectrum of reds: a glass of pinot noir, a glass of zinfandel, a glass of cabernet…(oh, the sacrifices we make for our art! 😉 ) But, most importantly, I ended up enjoying using the B-2 nib! A first for me!
Thank you, Reggie.