If I have a studio day at home, it’s important for me to get out of the house first thing. I have to simulate a commute in order to be productive in the afternoon in the studio. There’s something about getting out of the house that is somehow energizing, and gets you awake and ready to work.
I set aside the more active water images for the day and tried to focus the majority of my efforts on the half black ink, half wash brush technique that I was experimenting with yesterday. I definitely had a better grip on the technique today since I had taken the time to think it through yesterday.
I also started using a brush that my mother sent me from Taiwan a few weeks ago. I hadn’t used it before, and I was excited by how soft, flexible, and versatile its bristles were compared to many of the other brushes I’ve been using. I think about brushes like people; each one has its own distinctive personality and traits that requires time on your part to begin to fully understand. This particular brush has a more slender handle which makes it more graceful to grip, and it worked perfectly for the technique I was trying out.
Today I made a concerted effort to try to put fewer marks on the page, and to let each individual stroke have more of a presence on its own. This is a concept that is a lot easier to think about than to actually practice. Looking back on the drawings I did today, I know that I definitely overworked some of them, and many of the ink strokes I made seem to take away from others.
Clara Lieu 