“Mark-making is the broad term used to include all marks that are made visible as a manifestation of applied or gestural energy.
“… There are an infinite number of marks possible, and our nomenclature for them is very limited–lines, dots, dashes, smudges, etc. …
“A drawing is… a trail of contained energy, incorporating the history of its own making.”
“Drawing Projects” by Nick Maslen and Jack Southern, p20
Deliberate and considered, desired or unwanted, accidental and unintentional, delicate or bold, closely observed or generalised .. the list of words we can use to describe types of marks is perhaps longer than the list describing their shape and texture. But ultimately mark making is simply artspeak for everything that’s put onto what started as a blank sheet of paper.
I wonder what the collective noun would be: “A portfolio of mark making? A concert? A festival? A murmuration?
