A recent drawing from my sketchbook. A couple months ago, I realised I had forged what I’m calling a “new relationship with colour”. This new bond coincided with the melding of a couple fun influences, too.
I’m not sure what prompted me to pull out my stash of Sharpies and start adding colour to my drawings. Typically, I draw using simple lines with little shading. I didn’t avoid colour, so much as I wouldn’t make time to plan a drawing with that in mind. But one morning it clicked, and I got into it. What started as quick experiment has grown in both complexity, and, interestingly enough, subject matter.
Penciling and then inking for colour, I’ve learned, means you have to plan your piece a little differently. You have to think before you get going. The result is that I’ve been able to bring in ideas from some of the books I have around the house for inspiration.
I’ve been pulling ideas from a few specific books, lately. Two are used book store finds: a survey of Hieronymus Bosch by Carl Linfert and a history of early medieval art by John Beckwith. Added to the mix is Wilder Mann by Charles Fréger. Though they seem unrelated, they all share a sense of metaphysical theatrics and storytelling that I find compelling.
This mix of religious art and pagan costume has been swirling my brain for a while, but only recently have I figured out how to evoke those influences more meaningfully. It’s exciting to see this come to life on the page in vibrant, sometimes shocking colour.