Lines and Shadows

Pottsville wetland: shadow drawing

I’m fascinated by shadows; those of your own body and those made when the sun is at just the right angle to create wonderful patterns on a drawing. I think of John Wolseley’s artworks that he makes ‘in collaboration’ with nature, using mud and water to create their own marks on his papers.

This week during a drawing session at the Pottsville wetland, I submerged my papers in the water and started filming the ripples and sediment sliding over the image. When I brought them out to dry, there were shadow lines made by the swamp reeds that cut perfect straight lines across the image.

The picture encompassed all of the environment; the grey sand the paper was laid upon, the silt marks and charcoal rubbings I made, traces of sand still on the paper and the wonderful shadow lines. Together they made this image that I couldn’t have created by myself.

For this project I am choosing to use papers that have been in my drawers for some time, many of them have mud stains on them from the 2017 flood. Others have been used as the basis for stitched collages. When I pulled them apart some of the the threads were still evident. The holes where the needle had gone through the paper became incidental lines in the image composition.

This image above had a poster from Mexico glued to it from another previous artwork. I couldn’t remove it fully but the traces of orange lend colour to the otherwise monochromatic palette. I’ve also been using tracing paper I left out in a rainstorm. The paper buckled a bit and was still damp when I laid it onto a hessian sandbag that I had dropped ink onto. There were a few pencil marks that didn’t dissolve in the water. These too seemed to catch the shadows and watery reflections.

Its incredibly liberating to free yourself from the idea of realistic drawing and make marks instead. It has turned the project into a fun activity that I can slow down and relax into. I enjoy seeing what will emerge each time I set up on site and allow the elements to ‘play’ with my papers. Here’s to nature in all its elemental artistry!

Tracing paper with ink, pencil and water marks