Painting and drawing have been primary modes of expression. One of the methods painters often use is to place an initial drawing on the surface using graphite or charcoal.  This is the just the beginning, or the threshold to how painters begin to vision their works. Since drawing is capable of producing lines—the one thing that doesn’t exist in nature—it is important to keep the mindset of a painter and allow it to emerge. Painters traditionally rely on shapes of value and color to define the painting instead of the line of the draftsman (another topic in itself). One way of keeping the attitude of a painter is to use a brush and make things soluble. Whether by spreading pastel with a wet solution, or a watercolor underpainting, acrylic, oil or another wet start that soon achieves the painterly aesthetic. 

The portraits, interiors, abstracts and still lives in Drawn to Paint, speak to the diversity of both the ease and tensions embodied in these applications, formations, and processes that artists for centuries have negotiated with abundantly. Both techniques create richly tactile surfaces that contribute to the development and vitality of their work. Drawn to Paint features an array of wonderful artists taking risks and celebrating the tensions between these two approaches. 

Artists include: Davon Brantley, Mark Howard, Sarah Curry, Amirah Cunningham, Todd Hoak, Anna Arnold, Alexandria Couch, Dan Miller, Morgan Mansfield, Lauren McKenzie, Lizzi Arnholt, Ryan Craycraft, and Ian Burleson.