Every day this month we’ll be showcasing one of the artists and authors in the new ‘Art of Sherlock Holmes’ project – today it’s artist Terre Rybovich.

Terre Rybovich’s method is fascinating. It’s best left to her to explain…..

“These large drawings each began with me charcoaling the entire surface and then lying down on it. The idea came to me years ago when I was delirious with the flu. “Drawing backwards” is how it initially presented itself. In other words, removing charcoal to create an image instead of adding charcoal to a white sheet of paper.

Because I was focused on figurative work, the body seemed like the most promising means for removing charcoal. And it was. The imprints were subtle but they were also powerful, even edifying. One unexpected outcome of this technique is how my mind reacted (and still reacts) when confronted with creative input that it did not generate. Every new drawing requires a period of slow absorption, or acquiescence, before the mind can yield to the body’s input. Yet then the imprint guides the process of completing the drawing.

Terre explains that she went on to also create “Small drawings made from full-size body imprints. With the risky addition of birds.”

The effects are fascinating, especially for me when she adds colour – here is a glimpse of her piece for The Art of Sherlock Holmes:

Terre is one of fifteen artists who have created new pieces for The Art of Sherlock Holmes West Palm Beach Edition which is published in May and available now on Kickstarter – The Art of Sherlock Holmes.