Tattoo Design – Jonah 4

I’ve recently been paid what is possibly one of the greatest artistic compliments a person can receive: a friend permanently inked one of my drawings onto their body. The commission was for a design based on Jonah 4. I also included a few references to Assyrian art from Nineveh.

Interview with CRISIS Art Residency Project

This is a recording of an interview I did with Kate Osmond from CRISIS Residency. https://www.crisisresidency.org/

Invisible Cities: Cities and Memory 3 – Zaira

Cities and Memory 3 – Zaira (6×6″)

Jacob Lawrence

Check out the work of Jacob Lawerence, particularly his Migration Series. This 60-panel epic was completed when he was only 23 years old.

https://lawrencemigration.phillipscollection.org/

“Housing was a serious problem.” 1940–41, Casein tempera on hardboard, 18 x 12 in. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Mrs. David M. Levy

Robert Reed

Check out the work of Robert Reed, an alchemist of color and geometry. https://hyperallergic.com/491306/the-bauhaus-and-the-black-experience-the-magnificent-and-mysterious-robert-reed/

Robert Reed, “Galactic Journal: Antibes Vert (aka School Colors #2)” (2004), acrylic/oil marker on canvas, 90 x 81 in

Invisible Cities: Cities and Memory 1 – Diomira

Cities and Memory 1 – Diomira (6×6″)

Jacob Rowan – Jackson, Mississippi

Check out my interview on 365 artists/365 days

365 Artists | 365 Days

Chorus, ink on watercolor board, 23.5”x16.5” 2015

Briefly describe the work you do. 

I make drawings in response to what I read. They are not illustrations of events or characters, but rather an externalization of the mental imagery invoked by the experience of literature. I want to pick up where words leave off by creating images to accompany the literature I love. By combing both art and words, I hope that I can enrich the experience of both.  

It’s easiest to say that my main medium is ink, but really that has come to mean all kinds of liquid materials including coffee, tea, traditional sumi, and watercolor. Conceptually, I appreciate the connection of ink and graphite to the writing process and literature. Because my work is based on ideas and structure, I also appreciate the straightforward ease of applying ink and graphite to untreated surfaces. 

Tell us about…

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Making Ink

I’ve tried several different methods to create large fields of flat black in my drawings over the last several years. I was using sumi ink for a while since it created a more even tone than india ink. However, I recently discovered the oriental method of grinding an ink stick made from pine soot against slate to create fresh ink without the level of glue or binder found in bottled sumi. It’s definitely a more time intensive process, but the meditative nature of grinding the ink gives me more time to think about my drawings.