Experiencing Art as it Evolves
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Two summers ago, I created impromptu drawings of fruit trees in an orchard where I was staying, using simple lines in lead pencil on handmade paper to capture strong sunlight and shade. Now, with summer approaching in Australia, the scent of early season mangoes and plans of a daytrip to Shark Beach have rekindled these memories. For me, sensory experiences often spark the urge to draw and paint.
Making experimental drawings and paintings is one of my favourite parts of being an artist. Even with a clear idea, I never know how they’ll unfold. For commissions, I keep studies as a record of my process. Once, under a major patronage, those studies joined the patron’s collection – I also shared brief updates with photos of my studio work, offering a rare glimpse into art as it evolves.
Inspired by these moments, Studio Notes is a space to share this creative journey, alongside essays, responses to questions, and previews of new artwork. Once or twice a year, I’ll curate a small selection of these drawings and paintings and make them available via my site for just two weeks, shipped worldwide.
It is a volatile time in the world, and we each find a way to cope. My way is to focus on creating, not to document or witness – we have a thousand other ways to do that – but to make an alternative place for our minds to go, offering moments of contemplation and respite. Over time, this becomes a kind of parallel reality we can dip into via our imagination.
Lemon and blossom, pomegranate flowers and plums with leaves, Hazel Dooney 2023