Drunken Paw is a collaborative drawing practice comprised of artists Mark Dicey, Leslie Sweder, and Janet Turner. Each artist maintains an individual practice while participating in an ongoing shared process that has developed since 2009.

Our practice takes shape through sustained collaboration across difference. We work from distinct positions—shaped by gender, sexuality, physical ability, neurodivergence, and differing philosophies of practice—while maintaining an ongoing shared practice.

The group works within environments selected for their atmosphere—social, spatial, and sensory. These contexts shape the conditions of the work, informing tempo, attention, and the unfolding of each drawing session. Rather than depicting specific scenes, the drawings emerge through sustained engagement with the surrounding environment and with one another.

OUR PROCESS

Drunken Paw’s process is structured through rotation and response. Three drawings are developed simultaneously and circulate between the artists. Each artist works in turn, responding directly to what is already present on the page.

This iterative exchange creates a layered conversation in which marks are continually extended, interrupted, and reinterpreted. The process is cumulative rather than planned, with no single author determining the outcome. Over time, a shared visual language emerges through repetition, divergence, and return.

Extended periods of working together—such as during residencies—allow this process to deepen. Longer sessions support sustained attention and the development of larger-scale works, which often unfold over months. These conditions enable the drawings to accumulate density and complexity, reflecting both the duration of the collaboration and the environments in which they are made.