Two surfaces in a suspenseful relationship

Scribbling, the quality of the line and the composition of two surfaces

With the first exercise of DRAWING IMPULSES, you got into drawing. You’ve succeeded in letting go of any intention, and instead relying completely on your intuition. I would like to build on this previous exercise and dive even more into the unintentional. But this time with a little concept.

On a sheet of paper, place two rectangles or squares parallel next to each other. They should be of the same size and not too small. Then scribble in the respective field. Again, you can do this with music, but the important thing is to look at the lines you had on your sheets of paper after the last exercise.

Which lines are particularly beautiful? Clear and vibrating? There are always a few that are even more beautiful than the rest. And on these particularly successful lines we build the next exercise, so that the line becomes even finer and finer.

You scribble in one of these two fields. Consciously. With your eyes open. Staying right at the tip of the pencil. You’ll always scribbles a little beyond the border of the field. On their own, these lines oscillate beyond the boundary lines.

Then you get to the second field. Then, by scribbling on the two squares or rectangles, a new situation arises. Between these fields, a blank space remains. How much remains blank depends on how much you scribble. So you not only have the scribbling in mind, but also the contour of the geometric field.

Everywhere, some scribbles go beyond the contours. As a result, there’s a lot of feeling around the edges of your fields and there’s a space between the two geometric shapes that are defined by the doodling.

But the doodling is, of course, artful doodling. We’re talking about the art of drawing. The art of drawing is always to be found there, in the art of the line, the vibration of the line. That is where the emotion of the drawing occurs. Totally and completely in the line. This time you’re looking consciously. You can oil the sheet again or not, as you wish. You can draw with your right hand or with your left hand. You can scribble on the right square with your right hand and on the left square with your left hand.
Your attention is on the tip of the pencil. Be aware of how much pressure you apply on the sheet of paper. Then, you observe. As you can see, it’s a simple exercise, but with very complex processes.

You observe: Is your direction of scribbling more of a top-down direction or a bottom-up direction? Does it go wildly in all directions, or is it more circular, or wavy, or slanting? What’ your doodling like? How do you feel, where is the greatest sense of well-being? Without becoming automatic. Without becoming like a robot.

Always with the highest consciousness. That is crucial! What can you do to raise your consciousness? It’s the drawing process itself, where you consciously concentrate on the tip of the pencil. This is a strenuous exercise and a very challenging one.

Now we are still practicing it in the free flow of drawing. Later we will move on to a more purposeful exercise. But the aim now is to create tension. A tension between the two fields! As if there was an electric spark. As if there was a lot of light. The spark is catching, as so much tension is created between the two fields.

This is a wonderful task. If it seems too complex, you just start with one field. Take a sheet of paper, define a square or rectangle with a ruler and scribble in it. Do the same as last episode, feel free to close your eyes. Feel your way into the invisible line, just into the inner line of the boundary, and try to scribble into it with as much light as possible. And see what happens.

How do you find your way? What sense of space do you develop within this square you’re drawing in? And then in the next step, draw two rectangles or squares, the same size, next to each other, parallel, with pencil and ruler. You can close your eyes again. But I would like you to open your eyes for at least one sheet to observe how you create this tension between the two squares.

Th distance between the squares can be larger or smaller. Try it out. As you work, you feel these two fields coming closer together. And of course, your awareness is not only between the two fields, but the contour that develops between the two fields must work for all the other sides. So, this is quite a challenge, as simple as the exercise seems.

Before you sit down, pay close attention to your workspace. Set up your workspace with care and love. Clean the table, put away everything you don’t need for drawing, lay down your pad and place the drawing sheet on it. Set up your drawing utensils.

Make sure the pencil is sharpened. Prepare the music that’s important to you for today. Write down the titles, so that you will remember it later. And then you prepare yourself. Never forget to take care of yourself, to make sure you’re well. Drawing is a fine instrument. It’s a fine energy, flowing through our hand. This aesthetic energy is a very special power of drawing that takes place in a fine, sensitive area. That’s why it’s very important to be in tune with yourself.

In the last exercise I’ve already shown you a way to do this. You can also go for a walk in the nature before you start to draw. Feel yourself walking. Observe how you walk, how each foot rolls from heel to toe, how it feels on the ground. You can also do this indoors.

You can walk up and down a little, turn your gaze inwards and observe how you walk. How your steps and your breath feel. You can do this a few times. You can stretch. Take deep breaths, so that the tops of your lungs are filled with air, too. Feel yourself and the contour of your own body, your own boundaries, what makes up your own form. Move your shoulders so that they sit correctly, the head is at the right angle to the spine, and you develop an upright posture. Breathe consciously through the whole body.

Only when the impulse is there, take the pencil and sharpen your concentration on its tip. Place it on the sheet of paper and then you begin to scribble in your prepared squares, without intention, but very attentively.

I wish you good luck!