Unbroken Lines, 50 Years Apart
In the 1970s, John first explored the concept of drawing the human face using just a few simple expressive lines. By distilling key facial features and stringing them together, without taking his pen of the page, he created an elegant and dynamic representation of the human head.
Examples of this exploration can be seen in several of his works including the 130mm x 190mm etching below, dated 1973. In this etching John creates two heads, one atop the other, using just 2 vertical lines. The foreheads, noses, mouths and chins are all represented with one continuous line and their hair is illustrated by a second. Two faces from just 2 pair unbroken lines with two eyes to finish.
Half a century later, in the later stages of his life, John moved into a nursing home. During this time he had limited space for art materials, resulting in him no longer being able to paint. Also, his eye sight was declining, therefore smaller scale work became a struggle to see.
John however took this as an exciting opportunity to go big with simple pen and ink drawings and found himself returning to his decades old exploration of drawing faces using simple lines. He titled this collection of work “Suggestions in Ink”. Below is an example of a 380mm x 570mm “Suggestion in Ink” drawing from 2017, where John used 6 vertical lines to draw two faces that overlap and form part of each others face.
John found that nearly 50 years on, returning to his line work of the 1970s was a great exercise in distilling the human form into simplistic shapes. And he found enjoyment in the process of creating something new, elegant and visually intriguing.
Above Images:
Left: Etching print on paper 130mm x 190mm (1973)
Right: Pen and Ink drawing on paper “Suggestion in Ink 005” 380mm x 570mm (2017)