I enjoy the weekly life-drawing class I attend at the Art School in Ilkley. One of the things I find interesting is the fact that, from week to week, you never know what to expect. There are occasions when, driving home at the end of the evening, I have to confess that I ask myself what we were supposed to get out of that session. Last night’s session was a bit like that, but on the way home I believe that the penny dropped.
We were asked to work with a “resist” technique, which involves covering a part of the surface with wax, which then repels any water-based medium applied over the top of it. I have to admit that I have never really come to terms with this approach before. On this occasion, however, I believe that the penny dropped.
With conventional drawing you tend to have a mark “in the head” which you then attempt to reproduce on the drawing surface. With resist techniques, however, this is impossible, as you can never fully anticipate the marks which are going to appear. The task under these circumstances is to recognise the interest of the marks which emerge spontaneously and accidentally from the process of your engagement with the materials.
On reflection I realise that this has also been a part of the interest of my recent work with textured surfaces, over which acrylic paint is then applied. It is never possible to anticipate completely the result which will emerge from the creation of a complex and textured surface. Plenty to think about here.