Artist's Statement

[Nancy Wyman Ray]

    I consider that a picture is artful if it discovers the art that wants to be on my paper. I'm talking about  the strong images from within or without that may struggle with me  or that may  woo me,  to find their place  at my drawing table.  The picture entitled Drawing is a good example of this process at work. When I began this drawing, sitting in front of the window, I could see a curtain, the grid of a window screen, the grid of the window with its panes, and my magnifying lamp that sits on the table. As I started to draw, other images began to intrude, replacing what my eyes actually saw with beams of light streaking across the page, sharp black points and ribbons of ink zooming over the curtain folds, and a dark universe visible where  layers of screen and curtain are pulled away. The picture was finished. I titled it Drawing because I did not know what it was about. Several weeks later, it came to life for me.  The title, "Drawing," is accurate because it is not a noun. It refers to the act or process of "drawing." To be a part of this process is to allow the magic to happen, to invite the anonymous visions  onto the paper and then to look and understand.