Figures is the first body of work I've made since moving to Japan.

When I first sat down, I hadn't painted in months. So I gave myself time to mess around. To explore.

I painted for weeks. No matter what I tried, I kept returning to the same movements.

Years of repeating line after line had taught my hand what to do before my mind could decide.

One drawing became the next. One new line led to another.

Before long, these Figures were there.

Figures occupy an uncertain space between drawing and painting. Built from committed pencil lines, Sumi ink, and translucent acrylic, they appear both weightless and anchored, defined less by solid form than by rhythm, balance, and movement.

Repeated across the series, the figure becomes a flexible system rather than a fixed image. Working within a consistent set of forms allows small shifts in pressure, direction, transparency, and color to accumulate until each drawing develops its own presence.

The drawings resist narrative while remaining deeply physical. They suggest bodies without describing them, and motion without resolving into a single moment. Their energy comes from the tension between structure and improvisation: one line establishes the framework while another tests its limits.

Created during the artist's first months living in Japan, Figures marks a return to drawing after a period away from the studio. Working with elemental materials—pencil, paper, ink, and acrylic—the series transforms the uncertainty of beginning again into a process of exploration.