Boxes

Although art has had a place in my life since I was a kid, possibly, just possibly, it became serious with boxes. I managed to find a few brief moments to paint legos when I had little people hanging around. The year was 1988.

Caught up in pattern and color, and well before I ever heard of zentangles, I decorated a number of small boxes to display in my home. Soap boxes or boxes containing medicine or toothpaste tubes, small boxes. I pulled them apart to lie flat, covered them in Canson paper and painted them with watercolors and a Rotring pen. Then I glued them back together.

And that was back in 1990 and 1991. Recently, I ran across them sitting forgotten in the bottom of a drawer, turning yellowish and looking worn.

I remembered the hours of work they required and the pleasure they gave me. I decided to recycle them into my sketchbooks and give them a second life. 

So I took them apart and glued them into my sketchbook.

And then I added some. Freedom within structure.

The wild, organic lines have been with me for a l-o-n-g time.