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      Monochromatic Illustrations Personify the Power of the Sun and Moon through Fictional Deities

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      Art
      Illustration

      #drawing
      #portraits

      October 18, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Sara Golish, shared with permission
      In her ethereal portraits, Toronto-based artist Sara Golish (previously) renders lavishly adorned goddesses and gods that exude a sense of power and wisdom. The charcoal, conté, and ink drawings are part of two ongoing collections, titled Sundust and Moondust, that imagine a series of fictional deities. Each figure belongs to one of the celestial bodies, a correlation that the artist visualizes through the paper’s color, with a warmer beige for the sun and a cool gray for the moon. “I chose to keep them monochromatic so they could be imagined in any skin tone to each individual viewer’s liking—an ease to envision themselves,” the artist says.
      In recent months, Golish has been working on commissions and new bodies of work across mediums, which you can follow on Instagram. To add one of the mythical portraits to your collection, see what’s available in her shop.

      #drawing
      #portraits

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      Surrounded by Feathers, Birds Clutch Their Bleeding Hearts in Christina Mrozik’s Monochromatic Illustrations

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      Art
      Illustration

      #birds
      #drawing
      #heart
      #nature

      August 10, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Safekeeping,” graphite on paper, 15 x 19 inches. All images © Christina Mrozik, shared with permission
      Just as they’d carry a seed to a new location, the birds in Portland-based artist Christina Mrozik’s latest series tightly grasp pulsing hearts in their talons. The graphite illustrations intertwine masses of feathers and avian body parts with the still bleeding organs, suggesting that they recently were ripped from the chests to cause their descent.
      Coraticum—cor means heart in Latin—is an exploration of reconstruction, one that’s defined by bringing the heart outside the body. “It represents the beginning place from which feelings unfold, the center, the seed. I see this as the place before the stem or the root, before the flower or the honey,” they say. As a whole, the series considers the difficult emotions necessary for transformation. Mrozik (previously) tells Colossal the project was born out of personal upheaval in their life, which they explain:
      I had been undergoing a major rearrangement in my relationship, rewiring my brain’s response to chronic pain and learning about the history of trauma on my nervous system. The way I moved internally was under massive rearrangement and self-scrutiny, and I was doing my best to find where to put things. Then quarantine hit and it felt like the work of rearrangement was happening externally on a global level.
      Each monochromatic illustration is connected to a specific step of the reconstruction process: “The Eye of Recollection” to memory, “Safekeeping” to self-preservation, “The Ten Intuitions” to desire and instinct, “Colliding in Reverse” to letting go, and “Untethering Permissions” to questions about authority.
      Coraticum is currently on view at Portland’s Antler Gallery, which will be sharing virtual tours of the solo show in the coming weeks. You can find prints, pins, and books of Mrozik’s surreal compositions in their shop, and follow their work on Instagram. (via Supersonic Art)

      “Colliding in Reverse,” graphite on paper, 15 x 19 inches
      “Untethering Permissions,” graphite on paper, 15 x 19 inches
      “The Ten Intuitions,” graphite on paper, 15 x 19 inches
      “The Eye of Recollection,” graphite on paper, 15 x 17, graphite on paper
      “Good Morning Moon,” 14 x 21 inches

      #birds
      #drawing
      #heart
      #nature

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      Lyrical Illustrations by Käthe Butcher Explore Femininity, Emotion, and Human Intimacy

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      Art
      Illustration

      #drawing
      #flowers

      August 7, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “A Hug In The Garden.” All images © Käthe Butcher, shared with permission
      As widespread lockdowns swept the globe earlier this year in response to the threat of COVID-19, intimacy became fraught. For artist Käthe Butcher, the loss of an embrace or casual peck on the cheek was incredibly difficult. “The pandemic affected everyone differently. I always thought I am not that kind of person getting scared or/and paranoid easily, but in March I did. I panicked and felt very alone, which was one reason why I left London at the end of March to go back to my family. It was definitely the right decision,” she tells Colossal.
      This desire for connection culminated in “A Hug In The Garden,” an emotional rendering of two women holding each other. Their botanical garments swaddle their individual bodies, and singular stems poke out from their sleeves, adding a bit of whimsy. Similar to her other drawings—explore a larger collection of Butcher’s work (NSFW) on Instagram—this illustration visualizes emotional depth and intimacy.
      Replete with floral motifs and delicate lines, Butcher’s pieces generally focus on one or two figures, who are simultaneously confident, carefree, and elusive. Rendered in thin, inky lines, the women portray a range of experiences, moods, and personalities. “Femininity can be everything and nothing. It’s individual. For me personally, it is something elegant yet strong,” she shares with Colossal.
      Currently, Butcher is in the process of leaving London permanently for her hometown of Leipzig, Germany, and has been reflecting on the role of artistic practices in the current moment. “As for a lot of artists, this situation was and is still blocking a lot of creativity. It’s draining. Like wading through mud. But at the same time, it feels like the beginning of something new, bigger,” she says.
      To purchase a print of the artist’s tender renderings, peruse what’s available in her shop.

      “Hey Girl”
      “Dreaming About Another World”
      “T.S. Girl (Sleep Well)”
      “Grass As Soft As Cotton Candy”
      “Setsuna”

      #drawing
      #flowers

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      Powerful and Emotive, Artist Patrick Onyekwere’s Hyperrealistic Portraits Are Rendered Meticulously in Ballpoint Pen

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      Art

      #drawing
      #hyperrealism
      #pen
      #photorealism
      #portraits

      July 16, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Patrick Onyekwere, shared with permission
      Patrick Onyekwere imbues his photorealistic portraits with layers of emotion. Before sketching with blue, ballpoint pen, the Nigerian artist invites his subjects into a conversation about their lives, contemporary culture, and nature to establish the mood or story he’s hoping to convey. Their responses produce a collaborative endeavor that organically merges their perspectives and histories, which the artist translates to his artworks.
      Onyekwere collects a few snapshots of his subject for reference as he meticulously shades and crosshatches every inch of his hyperrealistic pieces. The artist sees his powerful renderings as “speaking for those who can’t speak for themselves” and finds the subjects’ eyes most interesting. “They mirror some of our deepest desires, fears, inhibitions, perceptions, thoughts, most of which we ourselves are consciously unaware of,” he says. “(The eyes have) the power to convey emotions and feelings and also communicate and connect to the viewer, inviting them to live in an untold story, in such a way they don’t see an already existing piece but take part in the creation of it.”
      To see Onyekwere’s portraits-in-progress and follow more of his expressive works, follow him on Instagram and YouTube.

      #drawing
      #hyperrealism
      #pen
      #photorealism
      #portraits

      Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

       
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      Sinuous Snakes, Insects, and Florals Intertwine in Graphite Illustrations by Zoe Keller

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      “Where We Once Lived II,” copper belly water snake, graphite on paper, 14 x 14 inches. All images © Zoe Keller, shared with permission Through a winding series of delicate illustrations, Zoe Keller (previously) explores the fragility of the natural world. In Scale & Bone, the Portland-based illustrator renders copper belly water snakes, San Francisco garters, and […] More

    • 125 Shares179 Views

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      Solemn Faces Emerge from Hazy Portraits by Artist GyoBeom An

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       All images © GyoBeom An, shared with permission Rendered in thick pencil, a new series of portraits by Seoul-based artist GyoBeom An feature models’ faces obscured in a monochromatic haze. While the distinct characteristics remain, a smudged overlay casts each subject in a blur. An tells Colossal that he begins with a figurative drawing […] More

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      A Surreal Watercolor by Illustrator Marija Tiurina Captures a Miscellany of Thoughts in Quarantine

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       All images © Marija Tiurina, shared with permission If Marija Tiurina’s latest watercolor appears to be a random mishmash of dreamy scenes, that’s because it is. The London-based illustrator (previously) recently completed “The Lockdown Project,” a dense composition inspired by dozens of submissions she collected during the first few weeks of quarantine. Complete with childhood memories, […] More