Ornamentstudier og notater 1919

Niels Larsen Stevns created this page of ornament studies and notes with pencil and paper. Look at how he’s laid out the page in bands. You can see the marks where he's been experimenting, probably trying out different ideas, like a painter mixing colours on a palette. I can imagine him repeating the same shapes over and over, like musical scales, maybe searching for something specific, or just letting his hand lead him. I wonder what was on his mind when he made this? Do the organic forms remind you of plant life? I feel as though I am in the garden of his mind, as he has captured little flowers here and there. These sketches are a reminder that every artist has to practice and play in private before creating something for public display. And they show us that art is as much about the process as the final result.