Drawn to Paint explores the role of drawing, both informal and preparatory, in the creative process of painters Jeffrey Marshall and Alex Stroup. Through the installation of paintings paired with their drawn origins, this exhibition creates a dialogue between two approaches to imagery that exist independently and interdependently.

Jeffrey Marshall works solely from observation, placing himself in public environments where conversations with inhabitants reveal the invisible layers of a place. Over the last decade, Marshall has focused his attention on the commercial fishing areas of Gloucester that are its foundation, and most at risk. “I usually use drawing as a way to see if a subject will sustain an investigation into painting. For me, painting is a more involved process, so the drawings give me the confidence to move forward with further interaction with a subject.” Marshall’s current work pairs carefully observed industrial tarps with paintings that explore the hidden imagery inside those forms. 

Alex Stroup prefers to show rather than tell. Stroup’s process involves a simple use of TIME: listening and waiting for imagery to bubble up out of experience. Often there are specific doodles or sketches that continue to take up space in the mind, which ask to be exterior. From these inklings, blossom full paintings.