Raw Spirits: Tales from the Sketchbook by David Allen Terrill
Ten year collection of sketchbook & experimental artwork (2015-2025).
276 page 7”x 9” hardback w/dust jacket. Designed by the artist.
The sketchbook; the marks made on its pages are unscripted, with no guidelines, no safety net. The ink and paint are applied immediately and instantly reflect what one sees, hears, tastes, and even smells. Much like our lives, a decision made at the moment; then one moves forward with the best of intentions. The searching lines of the pen, impressions of the brush. Discoveries are made about one’s art and process, but more importantly, about one’s self. The beauty is the imperfection of the searching, with no fear and no regrets, a raw spirit.
Herein lies an assortment of raw spirits that have haunted my sketchbooks for some time. Each phantom is unscripted, utilizing imperfect mark-making influenced by observation and imagination. I apply my knowledge of line, texture, shape, and color to investigate the creation of diverse imagery, emphasizing the spontaneity of life with shades of allegory. Together these apparitions have found a visual repository in this collection ranging from 2015-2023.
These illustrations were created by experimenting with natural media, (and some digital) resulting in drawings that capture a raw and unrefined quality. Each image was created with immediacy and maintained a sense of spontaneity and authenticity. While some of these illustrations were incorporated into a few finished pieces, all of them share a common raw spirit.