A few weeks ago, I got in to my head that I needed to draw on the reclaimed music books I got at the thrift store. The sheets were of nice quality paper, a little yellowed, but still nice. The antique quality and the complex arrangements of the notes intrigued me. I just wasn’t sure what drawing medium to use. I contemplated inks, as I had recently used in a drawing class, but… well, I just didn’t feel it. What I did feel were oil pastels. I wanted the greasy, messy blending that comes with them. Now, what to draw?
For the longest time now, I’ve wanted to revisit my Hollow Men series from the early 80ies, but couldn’t see an evolution for them. As soon as this one appeared, I thought I found something; it just hadn’t jelled fully yet. I did two this day and needed to put it aside to simmer in my head.
“msg” = music sheet book
And the title refers to the fact that I stared at the page for a long time before and then again after drawing it. It wasn’t right yet, but it felt better.
More to come…
Yay! Have fun 🙂 Best thing I’ve heard all day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
😁 thank you, Chris. You too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This works really well. My husband’s an artist and he often uses pages of old books which he finds in second-hand shops / charity stores as the background to his monoprints. Shame for the book, but I really like the effect of bits and pieces of text behind artworks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. I’m really attracted to reclaimed materials and find myself incorporating them into all my work. I’m also incorporating this in my art teaching practice as well. It’s so much fun!
I find that the older and more distressed the material, especially papers, the more exciting the work becomes. I’m in full exploration mode on this, and my rationale will become more intellectually concrete in time. Right now, it’s all about fun and I’m have a ton of it!
LikeLiked by 1 person