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Inspiration from Artists Wk 179 featuring artists : Anna Wilson and Anthony Amos .
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Message
Posted
ANNA WILSON is a Canadian artist born and working in Ontario. She graduated from Western University in 2018 where she studied visual art and psychology. She worked as an artist in residence at the TAP Centre for Creativity, pursuing her interest in drawing architecture and furniture from 2018 to 2022. She now works full time in her studio where she is producing a series of drawings exploring the creation of newly imagined places inspired by local architecture and interiors, and the intersections of imagined and real space.
She had her first solo exhibition in 2019 and has continued to show her art in Ontario as well as Montreal, Toronto and Nova Scotia, and has received multiple grants including Canada Council for the Arts’ Explore and Create component.
“It’s crazy to think that I used to want to be a painter. All of my life I’ve been interested in art. Painting was my primary medium and I was so sure that after graduating from university it would continue to be my main focus . However, all that changed when I picked up a fineliner pen for the first time. Ever since then (over seven years ago) I’ve solely focused on intricate pen drawings exploring architecture, animals, interiors and nature.”
Edited
by Jenny Harris
Posted
I'm a little confused by this artist. I have great admiration for her drawing skills and dedication. Spending so much time to create these drawings is remarkable, I've been surprised how many artists there are making vast drawings with pen or pencil. I confess I'm puzzled by what she's trying to achieve in some of the architectural drawings. There appears to be several perspectives in some of the drawings. It must be deliberate. Maybe this is the 'intersections of real and imagined space' that Jenny referred to in her intro. If so, it's lost on me.
Other drawings are sublime...the bird pictures for example. So, a talented and interesting artist, even if it leaves this viewer puzzled at times.
Posted
Painstakingly labour intensive would be an understatement! Although she obviously revels in that aspect…
She can undoubtedly draw, for me they look a bit flat, lacking in three-dimension, but that will be deliberate.
An interesting find Jenny, not quite my thing though on this occasion - she holds her pen like I would hold a dagger! If I had a dagger of course which I don’t…
Posted
Lewis, that aspect of her work confused me as well. I found this statement she made - it may (or may not!) help explain it.
I was actually a bit undecided as to whether to include this artist - I find some of her interiors (as below) rather heavy going and long to see a bit more white space - but the bird drawings and that tree are beautiful, and she is obviously very skilful and dedicated to her work, so an interesting artist to look at.
I was actually a bit undecided as to whether to include this artist - I find some of her interiors (as below) rather heavy going and long to see a bit more white space - but the bird drawings and that tree are beautiful, and she is obviously very skilful and dedicated to her work, so an interesting artist to look at.
Edited
by Jenny Harris
Posted
Thanks Jenny. As you suggested, I’m still not clear… these ‘artspeak’ explanations (to put it politely) seldom help. I think art that requires such explanations is failing in some respect. I’m all for artists trying to do new things, but sometimes it doesn’t work. The statement says she uses multiple perspectives in the same drawing, I’d assumed it was intentional. This leaves me thinking about the oddity of that rather than enjoying the drawing. That’s my problem of course, we all see things differently.
So I find myself split between ‘ that’s a fabulous drawing’ and ‘what on earth is she doing?’
But it’s good to see what artists are up to…so, well worth posting.
Posted
I find myself looking at her drawings not really as a whole, or as the depiction of one-view of one space, but rather more almost a collection of still lifes, or studies. The surreal nature of those multiple perspectives, combined with the same degree of importance most of the contents seem to have, make me view them kind-of like a collection rather than one piece. Her statement says 'invoke feelings', which I feel they do, to a degree, so I find myself not terribly troubled by them not being one scene. My background and training has me subconsciously comfortable with scientific, engineering and architecturally achievable depictions, on whatever scale and whatever the subject, so her work does feel a little odd and uncomfortable, but I think I'm also enjoying them just as impressive pieces of labour and detail too. Maybe not what she wants.
Posted
Artists are encouraged to make statements, by galleries, agents, and the places in which they're trained; and very few of them make a lot of sense - some of them are heavily portentous and pretentious: I don't think hers are, though she's dodged that accusation rather narrowly, but I still don't attach much credence to her words - though I think I know what she means about the "between", even though I don't see much of it. Her drawings don't need words of explanation anyway - they are immensely skilled, although to my unrefined taste they're too crowded with detail - that's what she's after though: creating a world of her own on paper, diving into her sub-conscious mind (or at least, I would say that if I wanted to wrap too many words of my own around the subject...).
I see she has a cat - very contemplative creatures when they want to be: I suspect people who own cats - or are owned by them - are quite often those inclined to slip into their own dream-world... try getting lost in an intricate world of intensive detail when you have a dog demanding your attention: mine was known to flip my sketch-book out of the way when attention was craved....
Posted
What a very interesting find Jenny. I’m glad you did decide to show her work. Like Alan , I thought how can she draw like that! It’s the sort of childlike way of holding a pen or
pencil that you would try to discourage in a small person, but it obviously works for her, so who are we to suggest otherwise.
I quite like her idea of filling the space between aspects of architecture etc as I understand it.
It’s certainly different which generally appeals to me. Is she filling what we call negative space in painting? Now I’ve confused myself!
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by Tessa Gwynne
Posted
What a talented artist her work is so skilled, I really admire her talent and thought confusing her work as well .
As to how she holds her pen , why not we all have a preconceived idea of how it should held and at schools where told to hold it properly, what is properly . I’m having to adapt how I hold pens and brushes due to physical limitations of my hands, I was reminded the other day that when at school I was often taken to task for holding my pencil pens etc the wrong way . The result was getting into more trouble for scruffy writing because it was awkward holding it properly, I now hold it as I did back then . All the reasons I’m confused about her work has already been expressed, I think Lew put it really well in his explanation, apart from that she is a fine artist so yes Jenny great stuff, thanks for introducing her to us.
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