Could this be an Artist Axiom?
An Illustrator Credo?

I Ink, Therefore I Am
Sally Swain © original art

Cartesian dualism has a lot to answer for.

I’ve long wanted to make that statement, but

never found the right moment.

Philosopher Descartes said, ‘I think, therefore I am’.

I understand this as dividing humans into 1. Mind and 2. Body, then putting rational, linear thinking at the top of the Hierarchy of Everything. 

With ‘I think, therefore I am’, the body becomes the mere site of all things grubby, slippery and sinful, along with a bunch of other non-rational, non-linear stuff, such as intuition, creativity, birth, death and women. 

That’s my rant. Thank you for listening.

Winsor and Newton inks
Emerald and Violet

Winsor and Newton inks.

Are you familiar with them? I love the little cardboard boxes containing sweet glass bottles of colour. The packaging was designed in the 1970s and remains the same. Quaint, clever and a bit hippy. My kind of design.

Here’s a Winsor and Newton timeline, incorporating an ink-potted history of art.

Recently, instead of waiting forever for the right inky project to arise, I opened two bottles of Winsor and Newton ink: Emerald and Violet. Sad to say, I didn’t adore using them. Maybe I’ve become addicted to easy modern watercolour palettes and am more familiar with their qualities. Maybe using watercolour paper was not helpful. But look what emerged as I played with the ink!

I started with a (very Descartes) thought balloon, which became a cloud with spiral rain.

I Ink, Therefore I Am
Sally Swain
play-in-progress

I Ink, Therefore I Am.

You could do a lot worse than identify with being an artist,

dontcha ink, I mean think?

I Ink, Therefore I Am
Sally Swain © original art