The Dance In Between

Pen and ink contemporary fine art by Doug Ashby

Dance: an act or instance of moving one’s body rhythmically usually to music.

Between: at, into, or across the space separating.

Distance is simply a perception. It is neither vast nor minute, merely a consequence of dancing in between. Differences at that moment melt away into the ethereal. What was once abstract can now be felt intimately and the boundaries that exist blur into one.

A thing that I find pure joy in, as an artist, is abstracting things like food. The above image is just that. Inspired by a leaf from a head of red cabbage I imagined a surface that folded in on itself and as a result produced repetitive areas that could dance with light and dark. In contrast to that I wanted something much more geometric in origin. I wanted the abstraction of the natural world, and our human interpretation of that, to interact. I strived to balance out the conflict and connection that is constant within humanity’s identity as a form of life on earth.

This was all dreamed up one night while cooking believe it or not. In those moments while tuning out the distractions of the day, enjoying an adult beverage or two, the sublime can often find its way. In this occasion I was a human simply trying to render a nutritious meal for my family out of life. Life in essence giving life. For that is the ongoing tension that defines all existence. It’s within the balancing act of that where true beauty can emerge.

This theme is one that remains a steady constant in my work. Attempting through the work to navigate the boundaries that elusively exist between life, the tug and pull, that defines is one of my main objectives. My hope is that the viewer feels that traction in a way that asks them to consider their own position within. And form that ask themselves how they too can strive to create beauty from this simple fact of life and live in a more harmonious nature.

I am not perfect at this for sure. My personal failings do cause me at times to be more critical than I probably should be. Yet I can not seem to stop working this relationship into my art. Some attempts are more successful than others of course. But that isn’t really for me to decide. The work is created, then released and I move on.

I hope you like the art and the writing. Please leave a comment on your thoughts and I will respond. Perhaps together we can discover new avenues to explore.

Thanks,

Doug