After completion of the felted flock I dove into making a steady stream of unassuming charcoal drawings. I felt captivated by the simplicity and obsessed with keeping the realism while not fussing about detail.
So many things in these pieces made sense at the time of making them. the subtlety of ewes as they cross the prairie that is matched by some strokes of charcoal on a muted background. The easy nature of sheep and dogs matched by the ease of spreading charcoal on a page. That charcoal can be so messy and still have flow matching how a flock move can be messy and yet have flow. The flow of our days when we drop complications and let nature, or the art medium, work for us. Individuals moving as one whole because each individual is whole matching a desire to create a body of work stemming from that position of feeling whole. That it can be enough to have a few sticks of charcoal and some paper at hand, nothing more complicated than that. How the deep blacks of charcoal can take over when they go unchecked; the risk of going too far with simplifying, or complicating, one’s life. How messy things can become before they sort themselves out. A continual assessment of when enough is enough.
At the core of this pull to work with such a basic, natural medium is a similar aim for day to day life. To pull out the realism I want to have in my life, to zero in on the dream and apply the layers needed. To do the very challenging work of letting go of details and unnecessary complications. To reach for a primary existence while not letting the flat blacks of nothingness take over.
A couple days ago I went through the storage box where the majority of my drawings land when they are finished. Sheep drawings, dog portraits, magpie drawings… I love the collection that is there. The surprise realization of a body of work is immeasurable. It’s very much like the surprise realization I get when I look over the body of work that is this flock of sheep and its accompanying working dogs.
