A drawing never begins with the
first stroke.
Long before the hand touches the paper, the
eyes, the body and the senses are already taking in
shapes, colours, rhythms and
textures.
The sun breaks through the clouds sparingly.
The sky remains grey, but already a few
shades are appearing: a subtle yellow,
beiges, very pale browns, a
golden light still finding its way.
The day does not impose itself; it
allows itself to be approached.
I go with the flow.
Every morning opens up a realm
of observation.
The chill on my hands, the smell of the earth after
the rain, a branch swaying hesitantly in the wind,
the dampness of a wall, the silence that precedes the
song of a bird.
Each day becomes an exercise
in mindfulness, not to retain more, but
to welcome more fully.
One colour alters all the others.
A single ray of light transforms a landscape
that is otherwise familiar.
A breath of air alters the presence
of a tree.
Nothing stands still; everything influences everything else.
Life does not choose what it offers; it
brings days as bright as the most
gloomy.
The gentleness of a morning, the harshness of a
winter’s wind, slowness, the unexpected.
Every experience leaves its mark
even before it is thought of.
I do not seek to accumulate
memories.
I let the world do its work.
I do not decide what will remain.
Some perceptions are retained
consciously. Others are not
selected, yet persist without my knowing in what form.
When I draw, something
remains.
I do not necessarily rediscover what I have seen. I do not reproduce it.
A relationship between two shapes, a distance,
a density emerge without my being able to
link them to a specific perception.
The paths travelled, the seasons
passed through, the light I’ve waited for do not
return as images.
Their origin is no longer identifiable, nor, necessarily, their trace;
I do not know exactly what has
been retained.
A perception that I have not consciously
selected may nevertheless remain.
Drawing allows me to observe its
presence without being able to trace its origin.
I can no longer identify this perception.
Yet the drawing shows that it has not
entirely disappeared.
