Aiden Burns
Visited Landscapes
My goal during senior studio was to create a series of illustrations with a focus on the process by which an image is created. I have always been interested in pen and ink illustration and wanted to create a series of work that tried to discover what about that medium I found rewarding.
Artist/Thesis Statement
I create illustrations of personally experienced landscapes. I think it is fun to research and problem solve things I do not understand in order to create a drawing that I find compelling. In the past I have been drawn to places with bodies of water or large rock formations. The images begin in a process of collection. This mode of collecting can be taking photos or drawing sketches of a location that I have seen while hiking or traveling. I then use this collected source material to draft a larger pencil drawing as plans for a final composition using pen and ink.
The driving force behind the work is the labor rather than the subject. My process may be obsessive, but I find it incredibly fulfilling. In addition, the pursuit of rendering with a medium that cannot be edited or erased requires careful study and time. I find this pursuit to be one that I can invest myself in.
With ink also comes the ideas of permanence. “What is the importance of permanence?” It is a question I asked myself. I hope that through these investigations through these drawings I will be able to answer.
