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| Street Corner, Ottawa, Kansas, US Highway 50 burnt matchstick and charcoal 9 11/16 x 17 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches |
Ottawa, Kansas is the first image to come from a recent trip
across the country on US Highway 50. The drawing was made using the tips of
burnt matchsticks and charcoal. The carbon closest to the unburnt section of the
matchstick is a wonderfully unstable color of brown.
I never drew much as child because I was painting. I thought drawing was an incomplete process
and saw no reason to pursue it. When I discovered charcoal in college, I realized
that the medium was more painterly than paint could ever hope to be. A broad wash was as simple as pushing dust
with a sponge across paper, and the rub of an eraser made an impact that a single
brush stroke seldom achieved. I worked
almost exclusively in charcoal for a while in college and repeated that process
for a couple years after graduation. Because painting had been my background, I treated
charcoal as paint. Charcoal consumed the vacancy of paper. It filled the page. It was no place for a vignette. I never saw drawing as an exercise, or a study
for something else. Although I see the value
of exercise, I’ve never been able to do it. I am either fully engaged, or I don’t want to
have anything to do with the process and would rather go walking.
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