Dancing Elephant Sketch

 What is more joyful than a dancing elephant?

Elephants became a pervasive theme in the works of Edward Gorey in the 1990's. The playful pachyderms made appearances in drawings, on rubber stamps, theatrical posters, a series of etchings, and even in a small flip book The Dancing Rock, The Floating Elephant. Edward Gorey's home has become known as Elephant House due to the great shaggy grey shingles that cover the building.

Edward Gorey loved unusual animals, both real and imagined. Elephants, with their large bodies, delicate flapping ears and tails, and expressive trunks became a favorite subject for the artist. The movement of an elephant, at the same time lumbering yet graceful appealed to Mr. Gorey's artistic eye. In this small sketch, the elephant has a playful balance and a very expressive trunk. 

Edward Gorey's sketches are beautifully rendered with a loose touch that shows the quickness with witch he drew them. They also show his thought process when working out an idea or character. First, second and third thoughts are layered one on top of the other. Ears, feet and the trunk of the elephant shift and the line work becomes bolder as Mr. Gorey begins to determine the position of the body, finally being loosely colored in with quick pen strokes. This movement gives a sense of quickness and purposefulness that brings the sketch alive. 

I recently added this delightful sketch to my collection. The paper is a approximately 3.25" by 3.75".