Picking out the shapes in the chaos of drips, drops and texture is the real challenge. While drawing and extracting, one allows the photo reference to slide into a vague memory as the mind is more and more involved with the selection of size, value and placement. The notan study done previously becomes essential.
A watercolour pencil marks the changeable parameters of shapes and movement. It is very easy to give too much authority to this line. Slavishly following a straight path in a natural setting is appropriate only in the context of something human-made. We like straight lines and even placements. Nature does not. So some of the drawing must be redone and some lines disappear during the extracting.
As I gaze into the labyrinth of possibility my mind shifts to another universe where negative spaces reside. Negative space is the area around objects, the neglected nothing we often ignore. Drawing nothing is vastly contemplative. Extracting is just another form of drawing. Time vanishes. Quiet reigns. God is in control.
Ultimately, I tread softly. Selecting the shapes used to begin with either the gesso foundation or the dark mix of complementary colours. Light or dark? Often, I begin with light. These days my method of preference is extracting the shapes rather than painting them. So instead of applying the gesso shapes I use rubbing alcohol and Q-Tip’s to lift the paint.
Skies are usually light although they need not be. Water is usually dark, yet, not necessarily. To avoid the unnatural straight edges, I focus on them first, deliberately exaggerating irregularities and angles. Little shapes within the bigger shape in various sizes excites the ocular nerve. Gradually I adjust the lines to accommodate the runs and the edges of textural marks.
Standing back helps me see the whole better. How much do I fill in? How much do I leave? How do I unite the whole? The answers vary according to the results of drawing and extracting. Each mark requires a decision. Bigger? Smaller? Wipe it off and try again? Break up that straight line. Re-enter a contemplative mode.
Contemplation removes me from my small, controlling self. Letting go of control and listening to the guidance offered allows me to see more clearly. I become one with the bigger plan and the flow finds the perfect shapes easily. Although I begin with a photo, the drawing and extracting lead me into new spaces. Life is so good.
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