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Tarka Kings Renders Intimate Portraits of a Morning Routine in Graphite and Colored Pencil

by Aurelia Butler 28 October 2025, 13:47

“The Changing Room III” (2025), graphite and colored pencil on Arches paper, 34.5 x 28.5 centimeters. Photo by Matthew Hollow. All images courtesy of the artist and Offer Waterman, shared with permission

Tarka Kings Renders Intimate Portraits of a Morning Routine in Graphite and Colored Pencil

October 28, 2025

Art

Kate Mothes

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Along Britain’s sea coasts, an iconic summertime scene unfolds in outdoor pools known as lidos, where the swimming area is often built right into the beach. Some are more developed with fresh water, chlorinated like indoor pools, while others may be less formal, with the tides pushing saltwater over low walls.

The tradition is closely related to another beloved pastime, “wild swimming,” where enthusiasts take a dip in lakes, rivers, and seashores. It’s often social, further benefiting people’s mental and physical wellbeing, and wild swimming clubs have become increasingly popular. For British artist Tarka Kings, the routine of these timeless recreational attractions lays the groundwork for a series of intimate drawings.

“Swans” (2024), graphite and colored pencil on gesso panel, 26 x 26 centimeters. Photo by Matthew Hollow

Mornings at the Lido, the artist’s recent solo exhibition at Offer Waterman, highlights Kings’ use of graphite and colored pencil to create quiet, pensive, and relatable compositions. From getting dressed in a changing room to sitting at a cafe along the Serpentine lake in London’s Hyde Park, which features its own lido, King observes everyday yet transitional moments between interior and exterior, action and stillness, and community and solitude.

Since 2008, Kings has worked almost exclusively with graphite and colored pencil. Her pieces pull from experience, with the addition of models and photographic references, as the artist swims almost daily and looks over the River Thames from her studio. “Kings’ relationship with water, and its dynamic within the city of London, is an integral part of her work,” the gallery says.

Follow updates on the artist’s Instagram.

Detail of “The Changing Room III”

“Bath Mat II” (2024), graphite and colored pencil on gesso panel, 41 x 51 centimeters. Photo by Matthew Hollow

“By the Lake” (2025), graphite and colored pencil on Arches paper, 67 x 102 centimeters. Photo by Matthew Hollow

“Red Flag” (2025), graphite and colored pencil on Arches paper, 66 x 95 centimeters. Photo by Prudence Cuming Associates

“The Changing Room IV” (2025), graphite and colored pencil on Arches paper, 34.5 x 28.5 centimeters. Photo by Matthew Hollow

Detail of “Swans”

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Social Realism and the Surreal Converge in Bryce Wymer’s Evocative Sketchbooks
by Aurelia Butler 26 October 2025, 10:17
All images © Bryce Wymer, shared with permission
Social Realism and the Surreal Converge in Bryce Wymer’s Evocative Sketchbooks
October 26, 2025
ArtIllustration
Kate Mothes
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Mysterious light sources, geometric puzzles, disjointed figures, and bold hues characterize the diverse, narrative compositions of Bryce Wymer. The Brooklyn-based artist is known for his enigmatic, emotive murals, paintings, and illustrations. Merging the analog and the digital, Wymer’s pieces often explore themes of social interactions and power dynamics, often through a lens tinged with anxiety, mystery, and solitude.
Whether working on large-scale commissions or more intimate drawings, sketchbooks remain Wymer’s primary jumping-off points. “I’ve been keeping sketchbooks since middle school, when I filled them with graffiti tags, local DIY show flyer ideas, and zine layouts,” Wymer tells Colossal. “Over the years, they’ve evolved from casual notebooks into an essential part of my creative process. I carry one with me at all times, and without it, I feel pretty untethered.”
The artist often makes his way through three to four books each year, sometimes experimenting with compositions on grander canvases but often leaving them within their small format. “Some lose their raw energy when translated to a larger scale, which is a tension I enjoy trying to navigate,” he says. “That in-between space, where an idea first lands and where it eventually ends up, is part of what keeps the process so compelling.”
Wymer has recently been focused on figurative motifs that examine what he describes as “quiet tension and emotional complexity.” He positions the figures within minimal environments, highlighting social dynamics with undercurrents of vulnerability and perceptions of control—or lack thereof.
Flat planes of saturated color nod to Social Realism, a movement that emerged between the World Wars and shone a light on everyday people as heroes in the face of especially government-generated adversity. For Wymer, Social Realism is indelibly linked to emotional and collective experience, which he channels through a varied and ever-evolving contemporary aesthetic. “More than anything, the sketchbook is my playground, free from expectations or fear of failure,” he says. “In any artistic practice, it’s important to have a space where very few rules exist.”
See more on Wymer’s website and Instagram, and watch even more timelapses on his Vimeo channel.
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In ‘The Party is Over,’ Murmure Confronts the Absurd Spectacle of the End Times
by Aurelia Butler 10 October 2025, 21:05
“Dark Spots” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 50 x 70 centimeters. All images courtesy of Galerie LJ, shared with permission
In ‘The Party is Over,’ Murmure Confronts the Absurd Spectacle of the End Times
October 10, 2025
Art
Grace Ebert
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In a world this absurd and disastrous, do we gravitate toward cynicism or levity? For the artist duo known as Murmure (previously), both are the only option.
The Caen, France-based pair presents a new body of paintings and charcoal drawings in their plainly titled exhibition, La fête est finie, or The party is over. Through a unique sense of wit and irony, they transform astronauts into runway models, the moon into a nuclear power plant, and a birthday cake into a raging forest fire.
“Moon Walk” (2025), carbon pencil on paper, 50 x 40 centimeters
Where there could be commonplace sights or moments of joy and frivolity, Murmure instead presents an unsettling composition. Every ill-advised choice—whether baking in front of a UV screen or watching cows graze on an ice floe—becomes a spectacular confrontation with our collective obsessions with consumerism, ecological wreckage, and self-serving gluttony.
La fête est finie is on view through November 22 at Galerie LJ in Paris. Find more from the artists on their website and Instagram.
“UV #2” (2025), carbon pencil on paper, 35 x 35 centimeters
“Nuclear Moon” (2025), carbon pencil on paper, 50 x 70 centimeters
“A Mushroom Story” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 150 centimeters
“Happy Birthday” (2025), carbon pencil on paper, 55 x 40 centimeters
“UV #1” (2025), carbon pencil on paper, 180 x 130 centimeters
“Cooler Age” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 50 x 70 centimeters
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Expressive Kitties Emerge from Energetic Graphite Lines in Drawings by ShouXin
by Aurelia Butler 18 September 2025, 13:21
All images courtesy of ShouXin, shared with permission
Expressive Kitties Emerge from Energetic Graphite Lines in Drawings by ShouXin
September 18, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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From simple yet deft strokes of graphite, ShouXin summons cats that jump, roll, crash, and express their curiosity. Detailed eyes, mouths, and noses complement the artist’s gestural use of pencil for the rest of the felines’ bodies, conveying energy, sounds, and plenty of cattitude through the fundamental use of line.
Prints and occasionally originals are available for purchase in ShouXin’s online shop, and you can follow updates on Instagram.
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Surreal Narratives Unfurl Between Animals in Laura Catherwood’s Dreamy Paintings
by Aurelia Butler 15 September 2025, 18:00
“Flying Lesson (Dusk).” All photos by Matt Wenc. Images courtesy of the artist and Vertical Gallery, shared with permission
Surreal Narratives Unfurl Between Animals in Laura Catherwood’s Dreamy Paintings
September 15, 2025
ArtIllustrationNature
Kate Mothes
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Curious foxes, sleepy fawns, and daring mice are just a few of the woodland creatures that populate Laura Catherwood’s dreamy drawings and paintings. Working primarily in graphite and oil, she situates recognizable animals into unexpected and fantastical situations in illustrations that “explore the inner emotional landscape while simultaneously soothing the viewer,” she says.
It often takes a moment to comprehend the scope of each of Catherwood’s scenarios. A pair of spotted frogs in “Rue,” for example, is not what it seems at first, as two heads emerge from one body, and their long tongues are both pierced with a fishing hook. And in “Inexhaustible,” a toad with an unusual, bowl-like back full of water provides a tiny oasis for a troupe of flying fish.
“Inexhaustible”
Catherwood is interested in the power of illustration to channel feelings, questions, and experiences that may be challenging or revolve around grief. Her scenarios are surreal and even a little cryptic, yet we’re invited to witness intimate, affecting, and enigmatic narratives that prompt curiosity and wonder.
A couple of these works are currently on view alongside Jerome Tiunayan and Joseph Renda Jr. in The Scenic Route at at Vertical Gallery, which runs through September 27 in Chicago.
Catherwood is also currently working on a series of nine small murals as part of a public outreach project about invasive species, plus a small body of work related to species found in Upstate New York, where she’s soon moving. And she’s also preparing for two solo exhibitions next year. See more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
“Rue”
“Stirring”
“Listen”
“Flying Lesson (Dawn)”
“The Bridge”
“Hard to Find”
“Everything Happens for the First Time”
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PITR Highlights Storefronts, Signage, and Graffiti in Ultra-Detailed Portraits of Urban Streets
by Aurelia Butler 4 September 2025, 13:48
All images © Pizza in the Rain, courtesy of Mortal Machine Gallery, New Orleans, shared with permission
PITR Highlights Storefronts, Signage, and Graffiti in Ultra-Detailed Portraits of Urban Streets
September 4, 2025
ArtIllustration
Kate Mothes
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Whether portraying a graffiti tag below a retail window or the bond patterns of bricks, the artist known as Pizza in the Rain, or PITR, illuminates city streets and commercial ephemera in striking detail.
With meticulous attention to geometry and quotidian features, the Chicago-based artist highlights business signage and urban facades in an almost narrative way, with the occasional figure passing through on foot or on a bike. Simultaneously immersive and nostalgic, we’re invited in and at the same time reminded of disappearing vestiges of past eras.
From storefront to storefront, we can imagine PITR’s compositions are snapshots of one continuous city, even though many of the distinctive locations are in different places around the U.S. Many recent scenes are evocative of New Orleans, with boarded-up shutters, like those often seen in the French Quarter, or historical markers. Circo’s Pastry Shop is a real place in Brooklyn, and The California Clipper is a well-known lounge in Chicago.
PITR renders everyday details with equal importance, from sprayed markings on the sidewalk, like the kind the gas company might make, to weathered awnings and neon logos. Nothing blurs into the background in his portraits of individual buildings and maximalist city blocks. On one hand, the locations appear realistic, yet on the other, there is a sense of fantasy and surrealism in their precisely drawn, slightly dystopian imperfections.
If you’re in New Orleans, stop by Mortal Machine Gallery to check out these pieces alongside new works by Max Seckel in Parallel Structures, which opens on September 12. Explore even more on PITR’s Instagram.
Collaboration with Max Seckel
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‘Where’s Waldo?’ Meets Sarcastic, Dystopian Visions in Ben Tolman’s Elaborate Ink Drawings
by Aurelia Butler 28 August 2025, 17:22
“Apartments” (2025), ink on paper, 91.4 x 120.7 centimeters. All images courtesy of the artist and Galerie LJ, shared with permission
‘Where’s Waldo?’ Meets Sarcastic, Dystopian Visions in Ben Tolman’s Elaborate Ink Drawings
August 28, 2025
ArtIllustration
Kate Mothes
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Rendered in delicately cross-hatched ink, dozens of figures inhabit towering structures or assemble in crowds in the elaborate scenes of Pittsburgh-based artist Ben Tolman. Evoking the playfulness of Where’s Waldo? and the optical illusions of M.C. Escher, the artist conjures what Galerie LJ calls “a kind of human zoo.”
Opening next month, the gallery presents Tolman’s solo exhibition, Control, the title of which takes its cue from current events. Throughout the last 15 years, the artist has channeled an undercurrent of disconnection and imagined dystopian settings. His forthcoming show acknowledges the uncomfortable notion that some of these elements have become disconcertingly close to reality.
“Connected” (2025), ink and acrylic on paper, 109.9 x 82.5 centimeters
Tolman depicts faceless humans that move in sheeplike herds, “willingly following paths that clearly go against their own interests: technology, invisible barriers, belief systems, trends, politics,” the gallery says. The works in Control ask: how far are they (or we) willing to go? At what cost comes folly—or simply not paying attention?
In works like “Apartment” and “Routine,” anonymous figures mill about in individual, soulless boxes. Some appear to be working, relaxing, or socializing. Others just seem to stand there, staring into their phones. And in the darkly comical “Connected,” people queue to walk up a towering ramp structure, absorbed so much in their screens as they head up the incline that it’s too late before they realize they’ve stepped right off the precipice.
“With a generous dose of cynicism and voyeurism, Tolman portrays the eccentric truths and social failures of Western society,” the gallery says. “That’s what (he) is trying to understand—or to condemn. The future he sketches might seem bleak, were it not infused with a delicious sarcasm.”
Control runs from September 5 to October 4 in Paris. Find more on Tolman’s website and Instagram.
Detail of “Routine”
“Caution” (2025), ink and acrylic on paper, 72.4 x 117.5 centimeters
“Naked Bike Ride” (2025), ink on paper, 22.9 x 81.3 centimeters
“Routine” (2025), ink on paper, 68.6 x 55.9 centimeters
Detail of “Apartments”
“Migration” (2025), ink on paper, 61 x 91.4 centimeters
Detail of “Migration”
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Hypnotic Patterns Envelop Sofia Bonati’s Nostalgic and Stylish Imagined Portraits
by Aurelia Butler 29 July 2025, 17:19
All images courtesy of Sofia Bonati, shared with permission
Hypnotic Patterns Envelop Sofia Bonati’s Nostalgic and Stylish Imagined Portraits
July 29, 2025
ArtIllustration
Kate Mothes
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In the bold, imagined portraits of Sofia Bonati (previously), women gaze confidently from swaths of fabric and symmetrical organic elements. Whether cloaking her figures in geometric patterns or natural details like insect wings, each individual gazes directly at the viewer amid vibrant backgrounds and elegant garments.
Bonati often derives her patterns and outfits from historical sources, especially hairstyles and gowns from the early 20th century. Surrounded by optical designs and repetitive motifs, her compositions are as nostalgic and surreal as they are contemporary. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
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Wandering Minds Reach the Bounds of Post-Its in Aron Wiesenfeld’s ‘Playtime’
by Aurelia Butler 24 June 2025, 17:22
All images courtesy of Aron Wiesenfeld, shared with permission
Wandering Minds Reach the Bounds of Post-Its in Aron Wiesenfeld’s ‘Playtime’
June 24, 2025
ArtBooks
Grace Ebert
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Known primarily for mysterious paintings, Aron Wiesenfeld (previously) has been experimenting with a tinier canvas, packing the same enigmatic energy into the confines of a yellow Post-It. His ink drawings rely on intricate line work and the artist’s ability to convey vast narratives within a three-inch square.
Wiesenfeld’s foray into Post-Its began on a whim, although it’s grown into a vast collection he’s now publishing as a book. Available for backing on Kickstarter, Playtime comprises the entire body of work within 120 pages. (The campaign notably surpassed its goal within minutes of launching.)
In addition to drawings, Playtime contains poems and writing about the series. The title nods to much of Wisenfeld’s preferred subject matter, which often centers on children in a listless state. Rather than partake in a rowdy game with friends, his protagonists are frequently alone, plunking away at piano keys or staring off into the distance. “I think of these small drawings like short stories. They are based on inspiration that I found in daily life,” he says.
Wiesenfeld is based in North Carolina, and you can find more of his work on his website.
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drawing

Latest story

Tarka Kings Renders Intimate Portraits of a Morning Routine in Graphite and Colored Pencil

More stories

Social Realism and the Surreal Converge in Bryce Wymer’s Evocative Sketchbooks

In ‘The Party is Over,’ Murmure Confronts the Absurd Spectacle of the End Times

Expressive Kitties Emerge from Energetic Graphite Lines in Drawings by ShouXin

Surreal Narratives Unfurl Between Animals in Laura Catherwood’s Dreamy Paintings

PITR Highlights Storefronts, Signage, and Graffiti in Ultra-Detailed Portraits of Urban Streets

‘Where’s Waldo?’ Meets Sarcastic, Dystopian Visions in Ben Tolman’s Elaborate Ink Drawings

Hypnotic Patterns Envelop Sofia Bonati’s Nostalgic and Stylish Imagined Portraits

Wandering Minds Reach the Bounds of Post-Its in Aron Wiesenfeld’s ‘Playtime’

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