Today I had a good clean out of my working space, sorting out cupboards and boxes, clearing desk tops and shelves, filling recycling bags and setting aside things to give away, a new start for the new year. Then I began to so some preliminary work for a new woodcut. I did a drawing en plein air of a stricken tree back last year that I’ve fancied developing into a print for some time now. I grabbed a piece of drawing paper the size of the piece of MDF I’ll be using to make the woodcut and I started redrawing from my original sketch. I could have just scanned a copy of the original and enlarged it, but by redrawing a few times, I give myself the time and space to work out how I’m going to develop this as a three colour woodcut. The process isn’t easy but I find that this practice of redrawing helps me to focus on the technical details.
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I agree about the re-drawing too – sometimes it can add new dimension to the original idea, and retains freshness that using a tracing or blow-up loses. Happy new year Rosie!
Excellent idea. Re-drawing is valuable in helping you get back into the subject. I often find that the working process delivers much more to the outcome of my work than the thinking process.
Yes, I agree. The thinking process can be counter-intuitive. Art is a physical activity as much as, if not more than, a cerebral one.