THE LINE

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It has been many years since I seriously and consistently worked with the line as the primary means of expression in my art.  It has a limited role in my architectural renderings in watercolor, and none in the clay monotypes or acrylic paintings, where composition and color are the means to creating drama and mood.  But, when properly executed, the simplest lines can evoke powerful and dramatic images.

It was during my first four years working in emergency rooms that I learned to appreciate the power and subtleties of line drawings, expressed exclusively in my on the spot sketchbook entries.  (Studio work at that time was always with watercolor.)   I recaptured some of the spirit of on the spot sketching during my trip to Italy in 2010, but have done little to sustain it since my return.  Yet it remains lurking in the back of my mind as I remember the joy and satisfaction I would feel when I successfully captured my subject in a few well-placed lines.  Maybe 2013 will be the time when I recover my pen and sketchbook.

Here are a few of what I consider the best of line drawings.

For an excellent example of the power of the line, I recommend a book by Gabrielle Vincent called
A day, a dog, a moving story told only with simple drawings.  It is wonderful.