The Weaving of the Web 3....

If one could take a photo of the inside of my brain, I sometimes think this is what it would look like....

Hmmm - could be worse I suppose.... and on the other hand, I see the beauty in this drawing. What can at first appear as a black hole or a void in the middle, can also be construed as the way straight through the middle. All depends on your perspective doesn't it? 

The Weaving of the Web 2.

pen and ink  size 29 x 42cms

The tangled web we weave is a metaphor for how often we attempt to deceive our self. To convince our self of that which we know is not in our best interests. It represents the constraints and the constrictions that we place upon our self in our attempts to conform to what we think is expected of us.

The Weaving of the Web Series ...

Oh my what a surprise ... more of the weaving journey and visual expression!!

The series continues and I have to admit; I have loved doing these. Hours upon hours of intricate lines and mark making, connecting, inter-weaving, layering. I have loved every minute of it.

Some may say it is 'overworked' ( a common failing of mine), however these pen and ink drawings represent my internal thoughts and feelings process more than anything else!!

It has taken a very long time for me to accept the fact that there are two sides to my personality, the one that dislikes restriction & confinement who needs flexibility and freedom in my life. And then the other side which likes and needs structure, organisation and process. 'We' are often at war and in conflict with each other.

And the ongoing search for balance within my self and my life is so hard to achieve at times. Inner peace and harmony often evades me. The truth is, the only time I ever feel in 'that space' is when I am drawing, painting or creating.

Then and only then, does time and place cease to exist, there is only the present, the inner sense of being authentic and true to my self.

And so it is ....

Pods of hope....

There are currently 12 'Pods' in this series of pen and ink drawings.
Conceptually they reference 'new growth, breaking free and developing'  in an illustrative biological, and
anatomical manner. The 'pod' shape started off as an 'egg' (birth) shape yet it was too 'nice', balanced, & even.
Often there are what I would call 'wonky' lines within the works, they are deliberate. To my mind, I don't want them perfect, life isn't perfect, the 'shaky' lines are part of the fragility of human nature.

              pen and ink size 29 x 42cm

pen and ink size 29 x 42cm

                  

Pods of Hope 2.

No hope of me getting a swelled head with a daughter who thinks I keep drawing 'worms or intestines' and a grand daughter who thinks these look like jelly fish!! The worse thing is they have me now checking out pictures of worms & sea creatures to double check!! (I'm not saying anything else about the comparisons or similiarities!!)

pen and ink 29 x 42cm

pen and ink  size 29 x 42cm

Fragmented Complexity...work in progress

This is one of those works in progress where I am trying to allow both aspects of self to counter balance each other. There is the intricate and intense mark making as well as the looser style of simply allowing the gouache paint to merge and blend in a serendipitous manner.

Obviously I have quite a way to go with it before it is finished!!

Hmmm we’ll see if it ends up working out okay !!

Series : Elements of Complexity 2 ...

pen and ink with gouache

The second panel in the series incorporates small pods which represent new birth & beginnings, and yet they are entangled, entwined reaching out to connect.

The use of colour is symbolic of the energy which is contained yet vigorous and energetic.

Series : Elements of Complexity 3 ...

pen and ink

Well the cropping of this photo (and let's not even talk about the wonderful photography skills with glass reflection!!) sucks big time.

Just for a minute I'm going to digress and mention that many many years ago, (often referred to by me, as 'another life time ago') I learnt, as part of our studies, how to not only use a Pentax SLR camera, which one manually adjusted, but also to learn the dark room processes of processing and printing my own negatives and photos.

Oh yes, I struggled with the technical components yes, (my brain doesn't do maths, sciences, and technology very well at all!) yet I still managed to take great shots.  Fast forward X amount of years and boy am I struggling with understanding this digital camera thing!! 

Okay back to the final images in this series of works.

The concept of weaving and webs is apparent with the use of the square & rectangle format to signify containment of  emotion and energy.

The Collins dictionary defines 'Contained .... as restraining, to hold, to prevent ( ) from operating beyond a certain area...'

The use of words constrained, restrained, and constricted strongly feature in many of my concepts.

They are of course representative of my internal and external belief structure and desire for freedom and liberation, knowing however, that our past, present and future are all entwined and inter-connected.

Wow we're getting into some heavy stuff here!

Elemental Fire...

Okay,  I have another confession to make, I am obsessed with the concepts of :
. Fragments
. Elements
. Complexity
. The Journey

Obsessed yes, passionate about - absolutely. Without a doubt!

In this search for balance, harmony, peace, wholeness, and authenticity in my life I am driven to visually create these fragments. As though somehow they will have a synergistic effect ...where the combined effect is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

Or more simply put, these 'fragments' are like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle and once they connect and join, the puzzle becomes complete!!

Below is another drawing in the series of 'Elements of complexity'.
This however is in pen and ink with gouache.

pen and ink with gouache. size 14 x 21cm