colored pencil


Art

#body
#colored pencil
#gouache
#gradients
#self-portrait

July 28, 2021
Grace Ebert

“Alignment of Virtue.” All images © Hanna Lee Joshi, shared with permission
Twisting into subtle backends or hunching into a cross-legged crouch, the faceless women that find themselves at the center of Hanna Lee Joshi’s practice all personify an aspect of the artist herself. Conveyed through vibrant gradients in gouache and colored pencil, the figures shown here are companions to those the Korean-Canadian artist created last year, although they plunge deeper into themes of loss, acceptance, and inclusivity. “The magic and mystery of life can seem very fleeting when you’re in the pits of depression. I wanted to reconnect with that spark of fire within,” she says, explaining:
I’m working on pieces that explore finding my identity and the nature of the self. Reconnecting with my Korean heritage and accepting all the things that make up who I am. In the end, I am just a piece of this earth having an experience of the self, and I’m trying to make a visual representation of some of it.
The introspective subjects have signature features like elongated torsos and limbs, dark, glossy locks, and large hands gesturing yogic mudras that further visualize emotion and feeling. The women are subversive in color and form, deviating from the skin tones and body shapes typically associated with nude figures.
Joshi, who’s based in Vancouver, is preparing for upcoming exhibitions at Spoke Art SF on August 7, at Thinkspace Projects in October, and later in fall at Hashimoto Contemporary. Prints are available in her shop, and you can see a few works-in-progress on Instagram.

“Wheel of Desire”
“Liberation”
“Pursuit of Prosperity”
“I’m a Little Shy But That’s Okay”
“Sun, Moon, and Fire”

#body
#colored pencil
#gouache
#gradients
#self-portrait

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Art

#body
#colored pencil
#gouache
#gradients
#self-portrait

August 24, 2020
Grace Ebert

“Untitled,” gouache and colored pencil, 15 x 20 inches. All images © Hanna Lee Joshi, shared with permission
The posed women in Hanna Lee Joshi’s latest series are comprised of vivid gradients: their chests are cobalt, shoulders rose, and palms lime. Created with gouache and colored pencil, the bright hues stray from flesh tones in favor of what Joshi terms “a more otherworldly aspect in my women. Reclaiming the goddess within and exploring the concept of embodying an ephemeral spirit in form,” she says. By rendering their enlarged, curved torsos and limbs in bold shades, Joshi subverts the tradition of the nude figure.
The Korean-Canadian artist, who’s based in Vancouver and recently was part of the group show “Somebody” at Hashimoto Contemporary, is concerned with how idiosyncratic experiences transcend the personal, which is why the subjects are all anonymous. Each work is, in part, a self-portrait that encompasses the physical, mental, and spiritual.
It is my way of coming to terms with being ok with taking up space; in society, in my day to day life. My pieces range from exploring a feeling of being contained within social constraints or self-created limitations to depicting the ceaseless chase for freedom. For me, it is a therapeutic reclaiming of how female bodies are depicted, little by little dismantling any internalized misogyny or any notion of how a woman should be or behave. It is a constant process where I am attempting to redefine how I see myself.
The unclothed figures also share messages with the positions of their elongated fingers and hands. Joshi depicts them with yogic mudras to embody “the beautifully poetic gestures that are so loaded with powerful symbolism,” she says.
To follow the artist’s introspective work, head to Instagram, and pick up a print in her shop.

“Sometimes we dance”
“Holding chaos within” gouache, color pencil on paper, 22 x 30 inches
“Untitled”
“Thousand petal lotus,” gouache and colored pencil, 12 x 12 inches
“Touching the earth,” gouache and colored pencil, 15 x 22 inches

#body
#colored pencil
#gouache
#gradients
#self-portrait

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