Study of Tracy Lynn 2018

This is "Study of Tracy Lynn", a pencil drawing by Soey Milk. The image, with its limited tonal range, feels immediate, like a fleeting thought captured on paper. Look closely at the lines around the hair, how they escape from the form. See how the weave of the paper peeks through, creating a kind of halo effect. The drawing seems to float away from the page, the negative space around her feels as considered as the lines that define her body. The artist's hand is so present. It reminds me of those moments in the studio when you're just trying to figure something out, and the process is more important than the result. It’s this sense of open-endedness, of not quite knowing, that makes it so compelling. Think of Jenny Saville, or Egon Schiele, that same willingness to embrace imperfection, to let the work be a record of its own making. It's in the spirit of inquiry, of always questioning and pushing, that art truly thrives.