India Tile Sketches

I spent a couple Saturdays ago with my friends Kathryn and Roberto and Roberto's daughter Kate. We took a road trip to my little cabin not too far from Shelburne Falls to retrieve a vintage refrigerator there, which (we think) is from the 1940s or earlier. Kathryn is an artist and needs a dozen or so for her art installation!

So what does all this have to do with my India tile sketches? Both Kathryn and Roberto are artists — visual and musical. In the car ride back we talked art, something I don't often get a chance to do on the level that we did. It was sheer delight and wonderfully inspiring. The next day I spend four hours in my studio working again on the line drawing sketches from the well-trodden tile floor of the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India.

I admit I struggled with these. The sketches feel somewhat trying, like I was trying too hard and didn't quite get to that place of being free with the line expression and connecting it with the composition. I know this is all a part of the process, though.

Thanks for taking the time to see my latest series of sketches. If you'd like to see more, go here.