The art of doodling

While doodling provides an avenue of distraction for many students bored in lecture, few take it to the “extreme” that Tony Kendig does.

“Dreamscapes,” an exhibit featuring his pen and ink doodles, will open with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday in the University Union Gallery, located in the University Union Epicenter. There will be free refreshments provided and live music by Fused.

The exhibit runs through Jan. 6, and features a collection of detailed pen and ink drawings in both black and white and color.

Tony calls his artwork “doodling to the extreme,” and the bulk of his work is pulled from the pages of a sketchbook he has been filling since his sophomore year. This exhibit is the first time the sketches will leave the binder.

“My art doesn’t really have meaning or feelings attached to it,” Kendig said. “I just find it fun to get lost in.”

His style has evolved from being “looser and less complex” to including increasingly colorful pieces with smaller and finer designs more recently.

“Looking back all the way to childhood I was drawing,” he said. “In class I was always doodling on my notes or binder or the desk, so finally I decided that if I focused all my doodles for a period of time on one paper, it grew into a dizzying mass of designs.”

The exhibit is a change of pace for the UU Gallery and the pieces will be displayed in a brand new way.

“It will be a different type of show than what we have displayed so far this year in terms of medium and content,” said Amy Whittaker, Student Supervisor of Fine Arts. The smaller scale pen and ink drawings offer a departure from the photography pieces and oil paintings displayed in the gallery’s past exhibits this year, she explained.

“The content deals with a variety of wildly abstract, seemingly unrelated images and ties it into a harmonious and dynamic composition,” Whittaker detailed. “When viewing it, you seem to be taking a peek inside (the artist’s) head.”

The exhibit runs through Friday, Jan. 6. The gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For more information, call ASI Events at 756-6119.