Hatching and Crosshatching
I went to Mallorca and all I drew were a handful of vases and flower pots.
I drew a little less than expected during our trip to Mallorca, mostly because I devoted a chunk of time to learning some new software and a reading a couple of books. Having said that, I got some drawing done and decided that a couple weren’t too bad to share.
Not surprisingly I found my attention drawn to a line of vases and bowls on a high shelf, and to some potted plants on the patio. When I’m drawing like this, I’m not paying a lot of attention to the page, or to the final layout. I pick one small element to start the drawing, then move out in every direction, trying to get the scale correct but not worrying about the composition. I’m not really thinking about these drawings as “drawings”. These are time spent. They’re exercises, like a martial arts form that you repeat, or a series of yoga poses. I’m just using the time to focus my attention and work on smoothing out the sometimes fuzzy connection between my eyes, my brain, and my hand holding the pen. Every time you use a different pen, the connection is just a little bit different, because the technique is never exactly the same.
As in my last sketch post, I’m using a scratchy fountain pen that really wants to crosshatch things. Crosshatching is a great activity. It’s the drawing equivalent of knitting a simple row. One line. Another line. Another line, and keep going. It’s an activity you hand over to an AI system, and if you did that you’d be missing the point entirely. Draw the lines. That’s the point. Decide where each line goes.
“The categorical error made over and over again by idea havers is to mistake the actual production of the artwork—the making and fixing of the microdecisions—for mere drudgery that can, and ought to be, done away with.”
Then I started to draw a series of these, and decided that I could do these anywhere and didn’t need to spend my holiday time on them.