Isabel Bishop Early Sketchbook c. 1928 - 1936

Isabel Bishop made this early sketchbook with what looks like graphite or ink. It's the kind of drawing that feels like she's just warming up, finding her way into the subject through touch and line. You can almost feel the scratch of the pencil on the page, a real material connection. The lines are thin and quick, like she's trying to capture a fleeting thought or a quick impression. There's a cluster of marks in the top left, they build up and become almost sculptural through a process of layering and repetition. It reminds me a little of some of Degas' sketches, especially in the way Bishop uses line to suggest movement and form. Of course, art is always in conversation with what's come before, and Bishop brings her own unique perspective to the act of seeing and recording the world around her. In this open-ended drawing, we see not just an image, but a way of thinking and experiencing.