‘Sketchbooks allow me to explore free flow, un-precious directions working with the media and format. There is nothing to lose. It is easy to push through, turn the page or jump to another book.’ – Mark Dicey

Working on 5 books at a time, and as part of his daily routine at home, in studio, or at a cafe or talk at a club, Mark Dicey works on his ‘bookwork’ art project alongside his larger abstract paintings.

The books are used ‘as a thought process that influences, and contributes to the studio practice. The pages are ‘done very quickly to explore and develop rapid decision making. Spontaneous decisions regarding what is happening on the page(s) for composition and interrelationships of line, color, shape and form. There are times that a page will be revisited or worked on for a longer duration until the piece feels resolved.’

Dicey finds preprinted books in used bookstores. He selects them for ‘the visual texture and in many cases the way the type of old paper takes media. The topic of the book comes through visually or is covered over and revealed in underlay/parts/ sections as visual texture.’

Contemporary, 2020.

Assorted Media: Collage, pencil crayon, conte, gouache, watercolor, acrylic.

Artist: Mark Dicey

Instagram: @paddlecoffin

Text and Images Courtesy of the Artist, Mark Dicey.