http://drawing-paper.tumblr.com/

My digital drawings are currently on the drawing paper blog http://drawing-paper.tumblr.com/ (link also on sidebar).  I've mentioned it before as I was in the last printed Drawing Papers last year which is published by artists Mike Carney and Jon Barraclough. It's like a newspaper full of diverse drawings and info about the artists involved. Drawing Paper #3 will be out soon and I'm really looking forward to seeing it - I'll post again once it's available....

Twists and Turns...

Turn 2, Pencil on paper, 1016 x 1372 mm

I've just finished 'Turn 2' (above) which is the last drawing of the Touch/ Trace series. I shall still be doing large drawings but the emphasis has shifted to the digital so although the work will not change drastically in terms of how it looks (at least initially) there has been a definite shift in my thought process. I have been thinking a lot recently about the rhythm of working and how my current body of work has split naturally into series - Surface/ Space 2002- 2006, Touch/ Trace 2006 - 2010 and now Drawn/ Digital. Some changes seem a natural progression of ideas and others are unexpected - but there are core issues and concerns which recur over and over again. My current engagement with the digital came as a complete surprise yet has taken me in a circle back to a drawing/ print debate - the starting point of this body of work almost a decade ago now.

Research....

I have been searching for a while for drawing research into some of the issues I'm currently tackling without much success. Yesterday though I decided to see if there was any printmaking (as opposed to drawing) research and immediately came across a project The Personalised Surface within Fine Art Digital Printmaking which looks very relevant and I am very much looking forward to receiving the full report in the next few days.( The project is continuing to develop at Camberwell and Chelsea as FADE )

Future plans...

I consider my work to be primarily drawing based and although I have always felt there were very strong, recurring print references (and did my M.A. in printmaking) I didn't think I would be ever return to traditional printmaking. However - as usually happens when I decide not to do something - I somehow come up with an overwhelming reason to actually do it and so I am now contemplating doing some etchings and screen prints.
I have been really pleased with the way that my digital drawings are printing digitally (Draw1 above) and have plans for a whole range of digital prints including onto aluminium, double sided diptych etched onto acrylic and I am also researching other possible surfaces. Thinking about the digital/ traditional and hand/ print relationship - including terminology, value and encounter - got me thinking again about traditional printing processes as a method of production. One of the next things on my to do list (probably after my Derby shows) is to produce (laser etched) etching plates and screens from my digital drawings and to hand print them. I would want them to be printed at a scale of 1:1 from the digital drawing files (101.6 x 1372 mm) as the digital prints are. So just need access to a laser cutter and a very large press and u.v. box then....

Tests....

One of the good things about drawing digitally is that there are no problems with documentation which is certainly not the case with pencil and biro drawings. Anyone who has tried to photograph a large drawing will know what I mean. My main problem is usually that the background is slightly darker at the bottom and it drives me mad!. So I have spent a fair amount of time this week trying to work out how to tweak them to remedy this. Losing a little of the lightest tone still, but getting there. It has also made me realise how much screens vary - the one I use for my drawing shows a lot more of the subtle tones than my second monitor which I haven't adjusted at all.