Drawings of Nothing

I’ve just uploaded 24 new doodles, drawings, cartoons and scribbles. Doodling seems to have become part of my bed-time ritual lately. Most nights, just before I head off to sleep I try and force myself to jot down a few drawings. Sometimes I really get into it and am pleased with the rests, while other times I’m either not in the mood or just too tired and end up with something pretty awful. ‘Amorphous 4’ (above) is the fourth in a series of drawings which are the products of trying to draw things that don’t look like anything in particular. This might sound easy but once you start sketching random forms it gets harder not to let parts of the drawing look like something already existing – you’ll start to notice an eye, an elbow or something finger-like beginning to appear here and there.

Another Doodle Update

With lots going on at the moment I’ve not been doing as many of my late night doodles as usual. However, I have just got round to uploading a dozen quick-fire drawings from last week.
The thing that I like about automatic drawing is that at the moment you put pen to paper you don’t know what will appear in front of you. Your brain is just a split second in front of what you are doing – instantly reacting to the mark that you are currently making. Sometimes you slow down and feel that the drawing is going in a certain direction, and at this point it becomes more considered. At other times the marks just fly out onto the paper as if drawn by some external force. And when these ones work out you kinda feel guilty about taking credit for them.
But, as I said before, with this approach they can be a bit hit and miss - so please don’t judge them too harshly.

Elephant Boy

I love the way our minds works – how we can’t help but see human or animal figures in random patterns or in vegetable or mineral structures. Some people love staring at clouds (oh yeah, I can see a giant poodle in high heals) but I’m always fascinated by the weird things that can be made out in some types of bathroom tiles. I could stare at them for hours. At least that’s the story that I’m sticking to as to why I spend so long in the bathroom.
And why am I waffling on about such nonsense? Well, I was looking through some of my old sketchbooks the other night and I came across a couple of thumbnail sketches of a bit of twig (top image) that I’d picked up somewhere. Looking at the drawings again they reminded me of some sort of John Merrick type creature so I did a quick cartoon sketch and here’s the result.

Sketchbook Archive # 01

The City/Fetish Mutated

If asked ‘what is the first thing you would try and save in a fire?’ I imagine that most artists would say sketchbooks (OK - if they had kids, they ‘might’ say kids first) – yet when it comes to exhibitions and the art world in general, these vital documents go largely over-looked. I know that not all artists use sketchbooks but to me they are invaluable. Not only do they act as a form of external memory (one of the worst things is to have a great idea for a piece, not make a note of it, then forget what it was) that you can come back to years later and find new inspiration in, but they also allow you to work out your mistakes without having to make them in the physical world.
So, as a tribute to the ‘the sketchbook’ I decided to start a regular (well, I say regular – I imagine that there will be more than one) Sketchbook Archive post on my blog, where I show a few examples of my working-drawings and talk about what was going through my mind at the time (cue the sound of wind and tumbleweed rolling across the prairie).
So, there goes –
The images above are perfect examples of what would happen if I could cross-breed some of my sculptures. Or rather, what the outcome would be if I started mixing some of the materials and techniques from one piece with that of another. These drawings take their inspiration from my earlier sculptures, The City (made mostly of wood and found materials) and Fetish, made from human hair. Ever since I first made Fetish I’ve been both fascinated and repulsed by the use of hair as an artistic medium. I love the look of it as a material but it feels horrible when you have to mix it, by hand, with glue. However, hair is a great thing to draw as it seems to dictate its own flow. But when I start introducing the rigid structure of wooden frames and boxes into the drawing, a kind of equilibrium or harmony comes into play and the two materials start to dictate the overall form the potential sculpture might take.
In a couple of the sketches you can see where I’ve experimented with adding items that I’d previously used in other sculptures – things like tubes, teeth and doll parts. This is one of the great things about sketchbooks – you can be a playful, dark or as silly as you like. And often, some of the best pieces come from what you originally thought of as just a stupid idea or from the crudest thumbnail sketch.

Rickety Lens Structure Sketch

Rickety Lens Structure Sketch, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

This is one of many working drawings that relate to the tower sculpture that I am currently working on (see work in progress photo below). I find these working drawings very useful. Some times the sketches and the finished sculpture bear a close resemblance. At other times they don’t. This is usually because either, in working the idea out on paper, I see the flaws in a particular idea or because a certain material that I decide to use might suggest another line of enquiry.
There seem to be two separate ways that I work as a sculptor. One where I have a set idea for a piece and where I set about making it so that it matches that original vision and another where I have a very loose idea for a sculpture and I simply let the materials and the chosen mode of construction dictate the end result. Although, it’s often a mixture of the two.

Skeletal Components Sketch

Skeletal Components Sketch, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

This was just a quick sketch that I did. I was playing with the idea making some peculiar skeletal figures from bits of wire, string, old bones, broken tools and whatever else I could find lying around. For some strange reason my scanner and computer (which appears to be going a bit senile) seem to have taken a dislike to this sketch. Neither of them would recognise it and it took weeks before I finaly managed to get it scanned.

Crutch & Tumour Box Sketch

Crutch & Tumour Box Sketch, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

When I first had the idea for my 'Crutch & Tumour Box' sculpture I didn't have my sketch book to hand so I quickly scribbled down this thumb-nail sketch (afraid that I would have otherwise forgetten the idea) on a piece of scrap paper and taped it into my sketch book at a later date. Even though this is little more a scribbly little doodle I get quite precious about my drawings and sketch books. I suppose they are the hard copy manifestations of my creative thoughts.
After nearly loosing half of my sketch books to a recent flood in my studio I really should take better care of them. Time to invest in some water-proof containers, 'me thinks'.

Suck Pod Sketch

Suck Pod Sketch, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

This drawing came about after joking about what might happen if genetic engineering and the sex toy industry ever got together.

Entrail Plasma Box Sketch

Entrail Plasma Box Sketch, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

I seem to have an obsession with wheeled boxes that trail entrails behind them. I think it might be something to with the conflict between man-made geometric forms and the biomorphic aspect of the natural world. Or maybe it’s something to do with the body being seen as this pristine box that tries to deny the existence of its viscous, smelly and often rebellious insides. There’s probably something deeply Freudian going on.
Anyway - this is the most recent drawing and it’s for an idea that I had that requires the use of a plasma cutter and a welder. Unfortunately I don’t yet have a plasma cutter so this particular project has been put on the back burner.

Hairy Tower Sketch

Working Drawing 03, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

This sketch is of a sculpture that I've been planning for some time now. Its for a piece that would be a hybrid between my 'Fetish Tower' piece, which is made of human hair, and my sculpture, 'The City', which is predominently made of wood. It will be interesting to see how much the end result looks like this initial sketch.

Batman Skull Sketch

Batman Skull Sketch, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

This is for an idea I have for taking some human skulls and altering them so that they appear to have morphed with aspects of certain super heroes. I think that this should be quite a fun project but I’m not too sure how original it is.

Junk Metal Nest Sketch

Junk Metal Nest Sketch, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

I was surprised how coherently this sketch turned out. Originally I just set out to scribble down a rough idea for a spherical nest-like sculpture that I planned to weld together from bits of scrap metal.
Usually when I only have a vague idea for a piece, and no actual materials in front of me to draw from, the working drawing can initially look quite vague or messy (as I sketch out a rough image and then redraw over it – working it out as I go). Yet this one came out quite tight and finished, almost as if I was doing a drawing of a finished piece

Sun Worshipers 1

Sun Worshipers 1, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

Title: Sun Worshipers 1
Dimensions: 45 x 58 cm
Medium: smooth Hammerite paint & primer
on aluminium
Date: 2004

Nest Box Sketch

Nest Box Sketch, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.

To see more of my sketches and working drawings click on the image above.

Skull Flag

Skull Flag, originally uploaded by Wayne Chisnall.