Screen four. The blue lines are a rough guide for when I start drawing the threads of the knots. At this stage, it’s still more important to make the relationships of the lines clear as they weave in and out of each other than it is to make them “pretty”. Now, some knots, I take great pains to ensure that it’s a “true” knot — all one thread looping in on itself hundreds of times. That takes a deep level of contemplation and deliberation that I’m not finding at this point in the digital version. The easiness of correcting a mistake may play into that, though at this stage in a penwork, I’d still be using a soft graphite pencil and every mark you currently see would be erased before painting the final knot. I’ve been sick and in deference to that, I’ve forgone part of my usual setup because it includes rain incense, so I’m not sure how much that plays into it. The tactile sensations of course are also different, though the careful pressure of the wacom pen is surprisingly similar to using a regular stylus and nib with ink. Biggest benefit I’ve found so far to the digital version? Zoom! I usually work with quarter inch squares, which means eighth-inch threads. Photoshop lets me blow up the picture so I can see what I’m doing more easily without sacrificing the intricacy of using eighth-inch threads.

Digital Illumination Screen Four

My best artwork has always been knotwork and illumination with stylus and ink washes on parchment substitutes (usually a low-texture form of watercolor paper). Though I’ve been using digital media for nearly two decades now (ouch) to create pictures and for design, I’ve never been able to make a serious foray into doing a knotwork-based picture digitally. Now I have all the tools I need (loving my wacom), and I feel comfortable enough with them to give it a go. I’ll be chronicling the process from initial grid to final picture, with new shots posted as I go.