Errol Moo Young - "Exploring Automatic Drawings"

Errol Moo Young - Exploring "Automatic Drawings" Numbering 1 - 15

My Story

In January 2001, I decided to challenge myself to do 100 drawings in a month. The target date wasn’t met. The first drawing was completed on the 21st of January. The 100th drawing was finished March 11, 2001.

It was an exercise in doing ‘automatic drawings,’ - line drawings, doodles to some, which evolved on the paper. The lines were freely drawn, wandering over the blank paper. The first drawing was whimsically called " Led by the Line.” This would summarize the semi conscious state in which the work was, sometimes, rapidly done. At other times the process was slow and reflective. Not in the sense of unfolding a narrative. But to see what would appear next. What would be the destination each linear journey.

Reading Robert Motherwell’s book and seeing some of the quotes, reinforced some of the thoughts I was having. Freely evolved from doodles and scribbles, but with a deeper meaning. A starting point for more involved action - such as the inclusion of color, contrast and composition. Always new in content, shape and form.
Always experimenting and trying to explore new horizons, or confined boundries, restricted, then free flowing,
unbounded by rules or styles, hoping to reach a depiction that was uniquely mine. Evolving from my mind.

Here is the first set of 15 automatic drawings in the series.