Motion and Energy

One of my challenges as an artist is trying to depict the energy that comes from a subject in motion. Releasing my line to flow with fluidity and abandon is difficult for me at best. It's such an alluring trap to tighten up as I draw and there is always the danger that by doing so I can suck the life right out of my drawing. But if I manage to stay loose and let my lines be expressive, I can sometimes relay the energy and movement that I see in my subject. Sketching regularly helps.

I envy people who can draw with fluid and energetic (and sometimes seemingly erratic) lines while maintaining the integrity of the subject's essence and likeness. I marvel at artists like Henrich Kley who use such an expressive line and depict motion with ink line drawings. His compositions are fascinating and sometimes disturbing but there is no mistake about his imaginative, strongly individual style and vitality that he brings to his drawings both loosely drawn or tightly rendered.

Another amazing talent, my friend and mentor, Bruce Waldman, has taken monoprint drawing to a level all his own. He is an amazing etcher as well and has work in many public and private collections including the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. I aspire to draw with as edgy a line style and as beautifully as he does.

Yeah, I'm working on it...