Continuous Line and Wire Drawings

I had been looking for a way to loosen up and create more expressionistic and abstract art, but the fear of failure had kept me in my comfort zone.

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  A typical example of my ink drawing style in 2018.

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  Example of my surrealist style ink drawing in 2018.

I accidentally began to loosen up while sketching out some ideas for a sculpture. Knowing I would create it with wire, I began to let go of my control and draw loosely, as if I was sculpting with wire. 

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  The simple line drawing I referenced to draw the same image more loosely.

Initially I created simple line drawings with the essential information of the figure which I referenced while allowing myself to draw freely.

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  Simple line drawing and my expressive intuitive interpretation.

After a few days of experimenting like this, to my surprise I was using a continuous unbroken line, and drawing fairly quickly.

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  Experimental loose line drawings.

This free flowing scrawl seemed to capture the energy and life that I was attempting to give my work. Reviewing it made me feel as though I had liberated myself. I had tapped a more natural and expressionistic way of drawing.

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  Close up detail of the continuous line drawing.

“A drawing is simply a line going for a walk.”

Paul Klee

There were many failed drawings with this approach. I noticed the larger the scale I worked on, the better the results. Failure came from either overworking with too many lines, or not enough from being too cautious. It became a process of harmonising my creative outpouring with a Zen like focus, feeling for the sweet spot where to stop.

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  Five dancing ladies. Ink in a continuous line on A2 paper.

I am currently using the same approach to create wire drawings with.

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  Wire drawings, based on The Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo.

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  Continuous line wire drawings made with various metal wires and gauges.

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  Individual wire drawings each made from a single unbroken line of wire