That Wild Lounging

IT WAS ON THIS PARTICULAR SUMMER that I went wild swimming for the first time, which naturally drew me to Rachael Gan's Wild Lounging illustration of a young woman floating in a lake. The illustration forms part of the artist's Summer Series: nine digital illustrations created in summer 2021.

I consider the series Rachael's first body of work reflecting artistic perspective and personal style. Having had the privilege to witness her begin to dabble in illustration, and eventually develop into an illustrator, the collection feels very much like a debut, made with all the buoyant feelings of summer no less.

Here, I chat with Rachael about her craft.

LSP: What inspired you to start illustrating?

RG: I’ve always loved visual art - going to galleries to admire art and discover new artists. And,in my every day realm, appreciating the aesthetic and cleverness of artworks and illustrations in books and magazines.

The turning point in my illustration journey was lockdown 2020. Prior to then, I’d dabbled in art through weekend and evening classes but I identified as more of an art appreciator than a creator. During the lockdown, I found (like many of us) that I had much more free time at home. And with that time, I was motivated to draw more, and create original artworks. I also took a course in Enhanced Illustration through Central St Martins. The frequent practice helped me grow my skillset and confidence to the point where I now think of myself as an illustrator and creator.

LSP: Do you have a favorite medium to work with? Any styles and subjects you gravitate to?

RG: In terms of mediums, I love painting with watercolor for its looseness and unpredictability. I also really enjoy drawing with ink pens. You can’t pause for too long when you’re drawing with ink since it will pool, so the lines are always very fluid and elegant. My other favorite medium is digital - illustrating on an iPad with an apple pencil using Procreate (software), there are just so many possibilities!

In terms of subjects, I gravitate to scenes that evoke joy. The Summer Series of prints I just completed were based on my own excitement this summer for warm days, particularly following our challenging winter lockdown in the UK. With the summer series, I wanted to create scenes that evoked a nostalgia for summers gone and joy for summers to come - with brightness, serenity as well as intrigue.

LSP: Describe your process. How has this differed before, and since the pandemic?

RG: My process is still changing. However, right now, it involves: Deciding on the subject of the illustration. Finding reference images and collaging them into a mood/inspiration board. Then, I’ll roughly draw a few different compositions for the subject, and select the one I like most for the underdrawing of the actual illustration.

Once I’ve decided on the rough composition, I’ll set a target date for completing the work. And then it’s quite an organic process. I’ll draw, paint, and create to complete the work by that date, making decisions and changes as I go. Deadlines help me focus, so I like to set myself timelines even if they’re somewhat arbitrary, both for my own work as well as client commissions.

Lastly, I’ll refine. With a physical work, there’s a limit on the number of tweaks I’ll make once the first pass is done. With digital works, I may continue to tweak for weeks (or months) after.

LSP: How do you stay motivated?

RG: As a new illustrator, I’m still experimenting and working out my style. Setting goals helps me stay motivated. I’ll say to myself "This month, I want to make an NFT." or "Next month, I want to create a large mixed media work." And then I’ll work to do it, often watching lots of youtube/skillshare tutorials to learn techniques, and looking at other illustrators’ work for inspiration and alternative perspectives. I love seeing what other artists and illustrators are creating, both in galleries and on instagram. My social media usage has gone up a lot since I became an illustrator.

LSP: What advice would you give to new artists?

RG: Try all the mediums. Create often. You learn the most through doing. You’re not going to love everything you make. This is advice I also often give myself.

Wild Lounging, Some Sweet Things, and Beach Days 2 by Rachael Gan. Shop the prints at rachaelgan.com

That Sculpted Space

I WAS ALREADY A FAN OF ABSTRACT SCULPTURE when I visited the Brancusi studio in Paris, but doing so inspired me on a new level. Just a cartwheel away from the Centre Georges Pompidou, the art gallery is an exact recreation of the artist’s atelier, where he lived and worked from 1904 until his death in 1957.

The studio houses a collection of over a thousand items, including 137 sculptures and 87 bases. Among them are the elegant Tête de Narcisse, the highly geometric Colonnes sans Fin, the abstracted golden Leda, a few Mlle Poganys, and a number of Le Coqs.

While the sculptures are notable works on their own, their meticulous arrangement within the studio heightens the experience of them. Brancusi actually stopped creating sculptures towards the end of his life, instead focusing on how the works are grouped in their spaces. He called them “mobile groups” and revised their positions daily, resulting in a studio that served not only as a place of work, but a work of art in its own right.

Brancusi's influence in my own home:

My own flat increasingly reflects Brancusi's influence, through primitive carvings, and vases inspired by abstract sculpture. I don't re-group them daily as Brancusi did with his works, but I reposition them often enough to derive new experiences from their arrangement.

Atelier Brancusi, Paris, centrepompidou.fr Photos by Lady San Pedro.

These Figural Feelings

ALTHOUGH THE BASIC EMOTIONS CAN BE REDUCED to just four: happiness, sadness, anger, and fear, scientists have found as many as 27 categories of emotions including very specific ones such as aesthetic appreciation, craving, and entrancement. It goes without saying that lockdowns and pandemic events elicit many of these emotions, in combination and in succession, even more so than pre-pandemic circumstances do. 

How poetic in fact, to recognize the many nuances produced by our neurophysiology.

When I came across Rokas Alelunias' posters, I felt delighted to see my own myriad of emotions visualized, in a style that sparks my own aesthetic appreciation. Here, I speak to the artist about his work; the posters he started making out of boredom, and developing a more personal visual language.

LSP: What motivated you to start designing daily posters?

RA: To be honest; stress and anxiety. I just needed something to do to calm my mind.

LSP: Your posters reflect a few different art styles, what is your inspiration for these styles?

RA: I really love trying and learning new things, and if I see something really interesting I want to emulate, deconstruct the process and ideas behind it. I think at first it was more about doing and learning, but over the years some of the styles transitioned to my own visual language that is more about expressing what I feel and what is meaningful for me, different ideas - different styles. I am really interested in lino-printing, wood printing, cut outs and I usually dwell into Greek mythology, Biblical stories, figures and forms.

LSP: Do you have a favorite artwork that you made?

RA: I don't have the ones I love, but there are some that I hold really dear to me, because of the certain things that happened in my life at that moment. 

LSP: How has the Covid pandemic impacted your creative process? Were there any changes?

RA: It's a little bit harder to find new and interesting ideas, because it's been quite a while since I meet people in real work. Lately, I feel like boiling in my own sup - the same ideas swirling around and nothing new. It's hard to find things that would really inspire me.

LSP: What advice would you give to new artists?

RA: I don't have one, but thinking about, maybe it would be something like. You do you. Be honest to yourself and make decisions that feels right for you. It's definitely a bumpy road ahead, but if you trip you won't regret it.

Diva, Love Sick, Self-love, and Willpower by Rokas Aleliunias. Shop the posters at casualpolarbear.com/posters

That Fictional Flourish

WHAT IF COLONIALISM HADN'T OCCURRED? Artist Toyin Ojih Odutola imagines a union between two fictional Nigerian families, depicting their aristocratic affluence in a world untouched by the transatlantic slave trade. Created in three chapters between 2016 and 2018, the series features members of the Emeka and Omodele clans, united through the marriage of their titled sons.

Large-scale portraits and still life in charcoal, pastel and pencil offer a sumptuous experience of Ojih Odutola's narrative. The rich palette and complex mark-making bring to vivid life what is imagined, creating a world and identities that feel organic to the figures.

Apart from the luxurious imagery she creates, I am an instant fan of Ojih Odutola for her accomplishment as a young female artist. A Nigerian-American rethinking the traditions of portraiture and storytelling, she has been featured in Forbes' 2012 list of 30 notable individuals under 30 for art and style.

Drawings from To Wander Determined by Toyin Ojih Odutola. Images from whitney.org

This Light

Clocks moved forward in my part of the world over the weekend, signalling the start of British Summer Time. My favorite time of year. An hour in advance of Greenwich Mean Time, it allows evenings to have more daylight hours, until later in October when the clocks fall back.

On a typical year, we wouldn’t be quarantined at home, missing out on the pleasures of springtime. But as this is no typical year, I find myself in a constant pendulum of hope and despair, burning bright and burning out on a daily basis.

At this very moment, I am thinking about light as a marker of time. The sun rises and sets, and days pass, waiting for no one. Daylight hours lengthen and shorten, and seasons pass, whether or not we are ready for a change.

Columbus left the Old World by chasing the light of the sun. We too, leave old ways of living every day; these days more actively than ever. Whether you are doing your part on the front line or from the sofa, remember that positivity can be just as contagious.

Shine a light where you can.

SOME WAYS TO:

TAKE ACTION

Are you an artist, writer or designer? The United Nations needs your help creating content around public health messages.

READ THE BRIEF

Women constitute 70% of workers in the health and social sector globally. They are more vulnerable in crisis, and need support.

HOW TO SUPPORT

DON'T FORGET TO:

TAKE CARE

I’ve been working out with FitOn through the lockdown. It’s a free and easy way to stick to a progressively challenging fitness routine.

GET FIT

The exhaustion you feel is called allostatic overload. What is it? And how to build resilience in times of fear and uncertainty.

HBR EXPLAINS

If like me, you love and miss dining, there’s no reason not to dine at home. Sylvia Fountaine’s Feasting at Home is my current go-to.

BROWSE RECIPES

And if like me, you love and miss ballet, or you are curious to try, English National Ballet provides online classes tailored for the home.

JUST DANCE

I Wish This Was by Candy Chang, Nurse at Work from Art UK, Jane Fonda with Cat by Genevieve Naylor, Linda Cavalieri by Fornasetti, Schwenk by Fairfield Porter, Private Dancer Brigitte Bardot by Giancarlo Botti

That Modern Appeal

BEST KNOWN FOR PROVOCATIVE PAINTINGS THAT CHALLENGED ACADEMIC TRADITION and marked the start of modern art, Manet's work is also characterized by what critics have dubbed as superficial: fashionable portraits, lush still lifes, and à la mode scenes of French gardens and cafes.

While more trivial in content, the paintings are no less extraordinary. And by offering glimpses of Manet’s elegant lifestyle, the works are distinctly modern. “Many of his later paintings are of extraordinary beauty, executed at the height of his artistic prowess—despite the fact that he was already afflicted with the illness that would lead to his early death. These works sparkle with an insistent – perhaps even defiant – sense of life." explains Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum.

I particularly love the pieces with pale, creamy tones against cocoa-colored backdrops. The strong contrast paired with painterly strokes gives emphasis to Manets chosen items of beauty.

Branch of White Peonies and Secateurs, Luncheon in the Studio, and The Guitar Player by Edouard Manet, wikiart.org

That Study for Picasso

WHILE POPULARLY KNOWN FOR HIS PAINTINGS OF SWIMMING POOLS in sunny California, David Hockney depicted other subjects of interest, in an impressive range of media. Still life features heavily in his oeuvre, alongside landscapes, and tender portraits of family, friends, and pets. Hockney made them with pens, brushes, photocopiers, cameras, and fax machines, on paper, canvas, iPhone and iPad screens.

With Picasso as his life-long hero, Hockney was inspired by the Spanish master's versatility, and experimented with different styles in his own work. He also featured Picasso in his drawings, making tribute prints following Picasso’s death in 1973. Through the 80s, he produced photo collages that emulate cubism.

"I think Picasso was, without doubt, the greatest portraitist of the 20th century, if not any other century." Hockney shares in an interview with The Guardian. Here, his Study for Picasso in pen and ink depicts portraits of Picasso at different life stages. The drawings sold at Christie's for £21,250 in 2012.

Study for Picasso by David Hockney. Images from christies.com

That Floral Fix

AMONG ART'S FAVORITE MUSES, FLOWERS HAVE BEEN A PROMINENT SUBJECT of artistic works across history. From ancient Egyptian ceramics, to medieval tapestries and impressionist paintings, flora features heavily in precious and iconic works. “It is maybe to flowers that I owe becoming a painter.” said Claude Monet, who is famed for his Water Lilies series.

In more contemporary times, flowers inspire an even wider range of artistic applications. Andy Warhol's Flowers is a quadriptych of silkscreen prints in kaleidoscopic colors. Jeff Koons' Large Vase of Flowers is a polychromed wood sculpture of a Renaissance-style bouquet.

Monet's Water Lilies, Andy Wharhol's Flowers, and Jeff Koons' Large Vase of Flowers

Still life depictions of flowers, however, continue to be one of my favorite floral genres. Its simplicity places less of a focus on concept, and more on composition, color, light and the quality of flowers as they are painted or photographed.

I'm currently feeling Britta Walsworth's fresh, fashionable floral designs. Looking elevated from the commercial bouquet without being avant-garde, her compositions have a tousled vibe to them while comprising sprigs and blooms in immaculate condition.

Floral design by Britta Walsworth, thesecolours.tumblr.com

That Morning Routine

KOBAYASHI IKKI'S SERIES OF POSES convey states including dignity and drunkenness. They elevate the stick figure with superb composition, effortless lines, and a minimalist restraint. The weightlessness reminds of Alexander Calder's mobiles.

At a glance the poses make me think of morning yoga, which I have practiced more or less regularly for the past ten years. I dedicate minutes to sun salutations, but even that makes a notable difference to how my body feels the rest of the day. It seems only natural to stretch after sleep, which is why animals do it instinctively.

Kobayashi Ikki is a Japanese graphic designer whose work is inspired by traditional Japanese emblems and graffiti. He works with pen and paper to create hand-crafted prints, at once clean and playful. “I like to make a work as if a child is playing, they make funny ideas that adults can not imagine so I always want to keep that feeling in my work.” Ikki shares with It's Nice That.

I would also like my morning routine to feel as if I were a child playing.

Prints by Kobayashi Ikki, instagram.com/kobayashi.ikki

That Physicality

RODIN BELIEVED THAT AN INDIVIDUAL'S CHARACTER was revealed by their physical features. As such, his work deviated from Greek idealism and Baroque beauty, giving way for a much more natural aesthetic considered radical, even controversial, for his time. His The Thinker was fashioned so that every part of the body speaks for the whole. The subject's rigid back and gripping toes exhibit that the Thinker, in Rodin's words, "thinks not only with his brain, with his knitted brow, his distended nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back, and legs, with his clenched fist and gripping toes."

When a marble version of his sculpture The Kiss went on display in 1913, it caused an uproar and needed to be draped with a sheet. The Age of Bronze was thought to be so lifelike that Rodin was accused of having cast the work from a living model. He made his subsequent sculptures deliberately larger than life since.

Beyond sculpture, Rodin drew in chalk and charcoal, and painted in oils and watercolors. The human body continues to be a prominent subject in these works, carrying the same naturalist style while celebrating character and physicality.

I am intrigued by his female nudes, which feature unconventional poses not usually seen in traditional academic postures. It is said that Rodin preferred his models to move naturally around the studio, where he studied them from different angles, both at rest and in motion.

The resulting drawings carry awkward and erotic touches that feel as fresh today as when they were created in the early 1900s. Outstretched limbs, standing upright, bending forwards or backwards; I imagine the models to have been quite relaxed, and the studio to have been warm and spacious. With limited lines and colors, Rodin masterfully infused his drawings with the same physical presence exuded by his more famous sculptures.

Drawings by Auguste Rodin, collections.musee-rodin.fr