Soul searching: Joel Daniel Phillips

It’s on the corner of 6^th and Mission in San Francisco that Joel Daniel Phillips meets with the poverty stricken subjects of his ongoing series of finely detailed drawings, 'No Regrets in Life'. These are the protagonists of hard lives whose stories emerge in his large-scale, charcoal and graphite drawings on paper. Every line and wrinkle on a face, or fold and crease of a jacket, tells the story of a life well-worn and the experiences gained along the way.

The one-to-one scale of his work allows every tiny detail to be viewed and explored in a way not usually possible in graphite drawings. This allows us a glimpse behind the first impression of the sitter and gives an indication as to what makes that person who they are.

 

Mark Demsteader

During the 1990s, with Brit Art on the rise, figurative draughtsman and painter, Mark Demsteader found himself surrounded by an art market dominated by conceptual art.

In the difficult years that followed however he finally found massive success, especially following his recent popular drawings of actress Emma Watson, and earning several notable awards including The Lyceum Prize and The Sidney Andrews Scholarship in the process.

His incredible work, a combination of original charcoals, pastels and oils, has undoubtedly renewed interest in traditional life drawing and classic figurative paintings. His drawings typically feature a beautifully balanced combination of the detailed, closely observed upper torso leading to equally striking expressive line work below.

Shawn Huckins

Shawn Huckins is exploring the new American Frontier: the internet. Taking historical photographs and paintings, he replicates the images and then applies modern day slang and the language of text messages.

He explores the idea of communication and how it is constantly changing. Information that would once have taken weeks to reach their recipient via letter or telegram now takes mere seconds. Would the settlers have tweeted "wtf?!" as they explored the Mid-West?