Draw to Internalize

Idaho Horse #5, Pen and Ink, September 2025.

Making a drawing helps me internalize an image and pull out the essential elements.  Once I have drawn a horse it is captured in my imagination, or at least held in its pen to circle around.  I can hear the braying to announce it's presence, a call and response that begs for my attention.  On paper I do my best to bring it to life.  In the example above you can see my thought process play out: the front foot gives it motion, the vegetation surrounding it frames it in place, the angled approach of the head and neck give it direction and build depth, the eye brings it a sense of life and alertness, the unfinished segment in the back gives it fluidity, the continuous line of ink interconnects all the parts (there are a few scattered lines that quickly squiggle out vying to be also recognized), and the spontaneous nature of the drawing give it an element of unpredictability.  Will this one find new life in a collage?  It is looking for possible.