Complex Charcoal Drawing

WittPenn Bridge
Charcoal on toned paper

I've struggled over the years trying to capture the rhythm and form of the early lift bridges around northern New Jersey. I've used watercolor and, pencil, but wasn't able to capture the level of detail and abstraction that I was trying to achieve.

I decided to abstract the bridge by focusing in on a complex area that doesn't give an immediate association with "Bridge". To emphasize the form, over the steel I put into silhouette. I chose a section of the bridge that would balance the negative and positive space - the tension between the two leads the eye around the piece. I didn't want an all over composition that would create a pattern so I pushed the weight of the piece into the lower right hand corner. The lower right is primarily black, the upper left primarily white.

The longer you look at the piece the more the forms become somehwat recognizable -cross bracing, cables, stairs, railings, walkways start to hint at the scale, but at the same time it creates an unusual abstract image like an ink blot.

My only regret is that I kept the piece relatively small - 16 x 12. It seems like it would have more impact if it was larger.

Something to do on a sick day - still stuck at home with a cold. Although working with all this charcoal dust is probably not that good for me : )

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The WittPenn steel lift bridge carrying Route 7 across the Hackensack River between Jersey City and Kearney was onstructed between 1927 and 1930. The bridge was designed by Sigvald Johannesson, designer of the nearby Pulaski Skyway. Named after H. Otto WittPenn - a politiical rival of Woodrow Wilson and mayor of Jersey City when the Lincoln Highway was mapped through the town.