By far my favorite way to create images is to submerse myself into the unknown. This may sound easy, but to be in a state of willing and unchartered mindset requires practice and an ability to make small gains to such a state of mind. I am not entirely proficient at reaching a state of unknown but indulge myself in the idea. Especially when I am outside, in the landscape with a sketchpad. I especially enjoy choosing a drawing tool that seems too impossible to make a pretty picture with, rather, I select a tool that makes me have to work at expressing what I am observing, no matter the results.
The above drawing is a good example of drawing with a tool that feels impossible. My natural instinct it to create a drawing that is like a photograph. And sometimes I love very much to render an image that relies on my skills. Mostly, however, I prefer to have to invent the drawing and work to make it come together. At some point during the process, I usually become excited about the image that develops in front of me—especially when using a stick and India ink.
When drawing in the woods, I find it difficult to comprehend the magnificent views that nature seems to throw at me. I realize that my ability to take it all in is a dream and that to not be overwhelmed, I need to focus on one view. To get started, I often think of looking through a view finder on a camera with about a 50mm lens. This helps me begin making marks on a blank sheet of paper and allows me to focus on what is reasonable for me to compose. I find drawing in the woods very much like fishing in a small stream. You never know what you are going to catch and some days you go home empty handed. But nonetheless, there is a beauty in the process and that is what keeps bringing me back.
