Abstract composition (Sketch for "Nika") 1963

Hryhorii Havrylenko made this sketch, probably with ink on paper, sometime in the mid-20th century. Look at how he's built this image through a series of hatched marks, layered and angled to create a sense of depth and volume. It's like he's feeling his way around the form, letting the pen lead him. The surface is alive with energy, a web of tiny movements that accumulate into something almost sculptural. Notice the darker areas, where the lines are denser, creating shadows and suggesting a hidden core. It’s all about process. The act of drawing, of putting pen to paper, becomes the subject itself. The hatching makes me think of late Cezanne, where the image seems to emerge from the accumulation of marks. This sketch could be a reference to a body, a landscape, or something else entirely. That ambiguity is where the real magic lies.