I spent yesterday at a local ranch working on some new drawings. Our local art gallery asks artists to come out and work in a variety of gardens and properties and the community come out to tour them. I worked behind one of the cabins on the ground. It felt so good to be connect to the earth. I had prepared several frames with stretched hides, 2 moose and one deer hide. I want to explore these as a new drawing surface. The moose hide was only partially tanned but was already taking on a soft appearance, whereas the deer hide is still in the rawhide state. I use a chalk pastel that comes in a cake, applying it with sponges. It's like a combination of drawing and painting and I really enjoy the marks I can make. I plan to do more work in this area, conceptually using the circle as a starting point. These drawings were inspired by barbed wire and hair that I had set in a circle on the ground. With the moose hide, interupted circle I also used heat and metal to insize the hide.
