Michael K. Paxton

Region: Midwest

Website: http://www.michaelkpaxton.com/

City / State: Chicago, IL

These large drawings began as small sketches in my notebook based on black and white newspaper photos of manmade architecture in a state of flux due to wars, natural disasters, and poverty. I was interested in how these more complicated structures could make for a richer perception of space in my work. I limited myself to the simplest of materials, charcoal, paper and a kneaded eraser.

With the passing of each drawing it became apparent that I needed to leave the idea of a drawing as a thing and begin to think of it as a place. So I started to combine large sheets of drawing paper together and let the work grow organically. As the drawing grew to wall size they also became more fragile, unprotected, volatile and for the lack of a better term, more life-like. This work comes from my reading of the novel “Blindness” by Jose Saramago. There is something about sight, senses and finding of place in this book that points to these drawings.