Getting Wordy

I messed about for ages trying to get all the whites in this drawing to be white without losing the pencil linework- it's so long I had to photograph it individually, and I'm afraid I gave up in exasperation. To view this, screw up your face and imagine the paper is all a snowy uniform white !

This drawing that spans five pieces of Incisioni paper using just a couple of colours and a range of black graphite/charcoal blend pencils.
I've been thinking quite a lot about forgrounding and backgrounding information - Renée it's your article that started me down this little track, thank you.

I wanted to describe the snatches of imagry and sensory information that wash over and absorb me as I walk the wharf space each (sunny) day with all the other pedestrians. There's the patterns of light cast and reflected, the architectural and sculptural forms that abound down there - (from the light balls to the cranes and the pole forrest), the sense of urban spaciousness... and pervading all, the knowedge of 'the edge' - and the water which is everywhere you are.
I realise I'm fascinated by patterns. Take for example a steel panel from the 'feathers' bridge; sometimes I'm looking at the form, sometimes I see the array of holes punched in it, sometimes I'm looking through the holes to a vista or a cyclist beyond - and sometimes it's the cast shadows that I focus on, on the ground. My brain is simultaneously taking ALL these things in and absorbing them, Geeze it's smart.
In this piece, I guess I'm wanting to guide the viewer to look this way too. If I'm successful, I'll have retained the sense of space in the work (loooots of white paper) and the forgrounding /backgrounding will be obvious to the vewer.

The sense and the presence of the water has been an interesting conundrum - we haven't introduced it in any of the work to date other than as a view window (in our collaborative sculpture -which I'm still working on). To me it defines the purpose of the space - and so I can't ignore it. I want to say that it is inescapable, but without superimposing it as a motif or respresentation over the top of all the other imagery. Interesting.

It's nice to be drawing again. Six months ago I lamented that drawing was what comprised my work, and painting without mark making was nigh impossible to me. I'm over that - how cool!