(15/100) When Out of Steam There is Always the Doodle.

There are still times I come to my sketchbook blank;  meaning both my blank mind and the blank page. So the only thing to do is a doodle.  That's what I did last night.  It had been a difficult 'family stuff' day and I was far removed from thinking about art or being creative.  This kind of day would normally derail me and I would do nothing, but I'm making progress now in keeping to a more consistent practice.  Therefore if the only thing I can manage to do is a doodle (on the sofa with brush pens and in poor light so I can barely see the colours) I will now do it instead of convincing myself it's not worth doing.

While I was making my 'I've no idea what I'm doing' marks I was still wondering what the worth of it was, (and the piece took longer than it might look!) and I'm still wondering.  But I was glad to have done something. Just the act of putting brush to paper makes me feel less out of touch with my creative self.  And today I'm reflecting on this and wondering if there is any difference between doodling and making abstract art.  
I suppose the real difference is that doodling is mainly mindless, it can be anything, can go anywhere and be done in any way.  Doodling is without aim or purpose.  But to create an abstract piece of art the necessity is to make crucial decisions concerning  elements of art and design specifically in order to communicate.  

Paul Klee's famous statement that 'drawing is taking a line for a walk' is both true and not true, it depends on where, how and why you walk with that line that determines whether you are doodling or Drawing (capital D for drawing as in 'Art' drawing)
 

Paul Klee 'They're Biting'

See here for a description of how this was made,

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/klee-theyre-biting-n05658

And here is an interesting article that takes a look at how another artist, Francis Limerat, relates his art to Klee's statement, https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/taking-a-line-for-a-walk/cid/1438160

 Francis Limerat 'Claire Voie No.162'

I haven't been able to find out about the technique of this.  Is it purely a drawing looking as if there is some 3 dimension, or is this actually a 3D piece?  It's fascinating to look at it not knowing the answer.

Finally, although I talk about the aimlessness of doodling, I think it is that very quality that contains the value of it.  The very 'unconsciousness' of it can bring aspects of the self into light, and could possibly provide clues to unknown parts of our personal creative being.  Deep within lie answers to who we are and what might be expressed, and one way that can take us into that often hidden place is the playful, unthinking activity of doodling.

And so I've answered my own question to myself.  Is it worth doing?  The answer is very definitely, wholeheartedly, a yes.