Zea Morvitz is a practicing artist living in Inverness, Marin County, California. Her current body of work includes ink and mixed media drawings on Washi, and handbound artist books and altered books. Her abstract line drawings reference Asian brush drawings and 17th C. metal plate engravings. Zea is a founding artist of Gallery Route One (GRO) in Point Reyes Station, and a Co-Director of GRO's Visiting Artist Program. Her work has been exhibited across the US, in Canada and Europe, and is in public and private collections.
Journal
About Zea
Currently I am working on paper in ink and water media, with some collage elements. Abstract line drawings are roughly 30 x 22, in ink on washi (paper made in Japan or Bhutan). The drawings reference landscape, rock and tree forms. Japanese and Chinese paintings are a source, 17th Century engravings are another.
Before I draw, I use graphite to make a frottage on each sheet, so that the paper is filled with random marks. My drawings in ink are made into and over the graphite marks, are gestural, and largely unplanned. The image evolves slowly, can take several years to solidify. I try not to overthink it.
