A Passage to New Beginnings

I created the pen and ink drawing for Emergent Passageways late last year immediately after Terminal Order. Despite the fact the two pieces have very different energies, they feel like twins to me – or perhaps two halves of one whole. While Terminal Order was tapping feelings of anger and frustration that fueled rapid change in my life, Emergent Passageways represents the calmness, rebirth, and acceptance that followed.

This post documents the drawing stage of this work. The completed piece can be seen here.

The initial drawing began with 2H pencils on Bristol paper. I had a sense of the general theme when I started, but I allowed the emotions I was feeling to generate the cables, machinery, and the ways they intertwine with one another.

Sketching in loose gestures, I just wanted to feel out the shape of the composition and the different elements. Once the foundation was in place, I went back over the work with a darker pencil and began clarifying the outline and details.

For ink, I used Winsor & Newton black Indian ink and a combination of round brushes with a 102 crow quill.

This piece challenged me at several steps in the process, both in terms of clarifying the symbolic elements and working out the compositional details. I just tried to relax and let the imagery emerge in its own time, allowing it to choose its own form.

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I post process videos, sketches, and behind-the-scenes work as new pieces take shape. If you'd like to see the next stages of this world as it's built, you can find me here:

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