DAVID MAYERNIK
LTD.

In the classical tradition of the Renaissance, drawing for me is fundamental to my work. It's how I learn from Nature and from other artists, and how I invent. Like the Italian word disegno, which means both drawing and design, my work on paper is both manual and intellectual.

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I work in a variety of media, just as an artist of the eighteenth century would have: sanguine, trois crayons, graphite, watercolor and ink wash (see my plein air watercolors here). I draw from life, but also from the work of the Old Masters, constantly honing what Pietro Bellori called l'Idea del Bello, or the idea of the beautiful. You can find more information about my drawing philosophy at the Tuscan Renaissance Academy.

 

Invention is facilitated by drawing, and I treat invention as exploration, recalling the Renaissance notion of invention as "discovery," "finding." As Piranesi claimed in one of his prints, col sporcar si trova: you find things by making marks. My narrative paintings are the result of a progressive study of possibilities in drawing.