The Evolution of Abstract Figure Work

I can’t fully explain why I’ve been drawn to dancers as inspiration for my work for just about as long as I’ve been doing abstract art. I was never a dancer, and I’m not athletic in any traditional sense, but the link between emotions and physical movement is very important to me, and dance is a medium that directly illuminates that connection.

Blind contour dancers, water and pencil on paper, 2020.

When I started doing works on paper in 2020, I worked with blind contour to start to created abstracted works from photos of dancers.

Blind contour dancer created with pencil and watercolor on paper, 2020.

The results were sometimes interesting, but sometimes too literal for what I wanted to do.

Green dancer, 2023, ink and watercolor on paper

This recent work in progress referenced two different photographs of dancers. I’m not sure if I love the composition yet. I may crop it. But, I have been enjoying moving in a much less literal direction and incorporating ink line created with dip pens.