Works On Paper / Pen & Ink

In mid-November of 2023, Jay Worth Allen embarked upon a new body of works that were, as he explained, “pieces I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time.” Going through some old portfolios, he came across a package of white Strathmore 400 [22” x 30”] cold-pressed, heavy-weight watercolor paper that had been stored in the back of his studio. Taking the thick, lightly textured, deckle-edged papers, he set out to “do something I’ve never done before” — exploring, while executing each new work, “how to put the bare minimum down and still have the piece work” — that, the full three-dimensional form, shadows & lights, color, texture, rhythm, movement — the entire work would be complete — with the least amount of paint, or, ink applied.