Order Out of Chaos
In late 2017 Chris started easing himself back in to drawing, having been otherwise occupied for several years before hand.
This came to be in light of a serious change in his health, an impending operation and what turned out to be quite a lengthy recovery period.
The Sketchbook
Where it began…
Chris’ process is simple. Create a messy squiggle using a pencil, then trace over the lines with a pen.
Though seemingly simplistic from the outside there are a few things needed in order to create images like these; A steady hand to trace the lines carefully, the ability to find something in the chaos, and the willingness to sit looking at the same page for sometimes hours on end.
There is an element of excitement and unknowing in the process. He never is sure of what the piece will become until he had filled almost all of the cells…
And of course, one must have squinted at the page for a good period before anything could be achieved.
Chris’ process developed over several weeks and months between consultations and meetings with doctors. Until January of 2018 when he made his way to the hospital…
Sitting in the hospital waiting for his pre-op, Chris was not able to focus in on very much at all. Only the thoughts of what if, how, and why.
It wasn’t until post-op that he had the mental clarity to really dig in - That’s to say the worst was over.
“It’s a strange thing to be sat in a hospital hours away from home, on your own. That paired with not being allowed to move ‘too much’, it turns out that one has a vast expanse of free time.” - Chris Fisher
So between small naps, and reading Chris turned his hand to his sketchbook and got to work.
In the five days Chris was in the hospital, before being discharged, he was able to fill a surprising number of pages! We have included a selection of these hand draw pieces below.
The digital
Where it continues…
During his lengthy recovery, Chris invested in an iPad with the Apple Pencil. This was a revelation paired with Adobe’s sketchbook app.
The possibilities opened up for Chris and his chaotic squiggles. The ability to swap layers and undo mistakes as opposed to being forced to stick with them changed the process drastically.
Playing with line thicknesses added to the effect - These digital images took far less time to produce, but due to the amount of spare time towards the end of his recovery, Chris produced fewer works in the series.
There were also options to play with symmetry. Which of course Chris took full advantage of as you will find further down the gallery.
The more Chris stared, squinted, and ruminated. The more he realised what, or who was staring straight back at him!
Years later, as methods progressed, and as perspectives changed Chris found himself looking at faces within these doodles.
The digital techniques allowed a degree of planning. In the gallery section below you will find a selection of these drawings that Chris out a lot more time in to and allowed himself to draft lines, shapes, and forms before committing to the final lines you see.
The mindfulness of this style of drawing became a huge part of Chris’ wider recovery. Working his way away from a previous version of himself in to a new required time, and this felt to him as thought it was giving him exactly that.
He is still in fact a work in progress himself, even if he tells you otherwise!
Chris did not feel writing about the specifics would be necessary to showcase his work, so we have deliberately left these details out.