I believe that there are 2 different approaches an artist can have when starting a new creation.
The Journey approach and the Architect approach.
Generally with an architect approach you have a clear picture and plan in your head of how you want the piece to come out. You think of a certain concept or idea and try to materialize it through your art.
In the journey approach you don't need to have a clear idea of you want to do at the opposite, all you have to do is put your pen on the canvas and see where it leads you. It is a very intuitive approach and can lead to a lot of self discovery.
Often when I use the journey approach it is for the goal of portraying an emotion or a feeling which does not have a particular shape in my mind. I allow the lines to guide me through a self reflecting state of mind during which I fully trust the process.
When it comes to today's piece it was very much a mix between the two, I had a certain plan in mind but at the same time I was very much opened to the possibilities that could emerge during the creation.
This piece was born from an emotion I often feel whenever I am met by the view of the endless ocean. I often spend most of my time when I'm at the beach, staring at that scenery. There is a certain humbling sense of the unknown and powerlessness that often overwhelms me when I stare for long enough.
I can almost become one with the sea at one point just by looking at it and feeling it looking back at me but I am also often met with the realization of the depth of it and how much mystery and unknown it hosts within it. It is like a combination of fascination but at the same time fear of the unknown.
And it is that same exact feeling that I often like to bring through my art. A sense of the unknown, of something so familiar but yet so strange, beautiful but also scary in a way. Mysterious also. I believe the things that we comprehend the less are the things that fascinate us or scare us the most.
A major part of this piece came through a journey type art approach and an intuitive self reflecting method of creation. Explaining some of the elements present in this piece would be going against the preservation of that sense of the unknown which is very much sacred for me. It is why I would rather explain the concept of how it came to be and how I try to portray an emotion through intuitive art than ruin the mystery in its entirety.
I have used digital black ink for this artwork just like with the rest of my editions.
