Dark Nights of the Soul

I came into the studio last week after several weeks of feeling under the weather. So I was still physically and emotionally quite low. I had a commission to make a start on and just didn't feel in the 'right space' for it. I'd also been reading a book called 'Dark Nights of the Soul' by Thomas Moore and in it he suggested that it can be helpful to articulate a dark night in whatever way seems natural to you - whether that's through poetry, music or painting, etc. He also suggested selecting materials that are in sympathy with the mood or whatever it is that you're trying to express.

So I decided to try and draw from that place and chose to work with black pastel/charcoal on a cartridge paper with a bit of tooth. I tried once again to let go of control and to see what wanted to come through. These are the three pieces that came in fairly quick succession. I could try to analyse them in words but I think that part of the beauty of this kind of work is that the images are open to personal interpretation. So I'll leave the response to you - I hope they 'speak to you' on some level.

The drawing below was done several weeks ago and I was experimenting with a range of Derwent pencils called Graphatint. They are watersoluble but when used in their dry form they appear as coloured greys. I really like the depth that can be acheived and the effect reminds me of drawings by the French post-impressionist artist, Georges Seurat.