Drawing during duress
Hard times and the making of art
What is this column? I’m going to do that classic “answer by saying what it’s not” thing. First, it’s not going to be the definitive answer on anything. It’s not going to be “the way”, I’m not going to preach from on high on how things should be done.
I draw for a living and in an age when folks are trying to crack the code to making art, but I want to share the human experience behind the images you all see. This business is wonderful and treacherous, I’ll share stories here about how I get by.
If that’s instructive, then cool. But none of this is gospel.
My name is Mike Hawthorne, and welcome to Draw is Life
Drawing during duress: Hard times and the making of art.
Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, everyone is feeling a grimness about the future. We’re inundated with foreboding news, horrible events, and people suffering. Wars, the rise of facism, racism still on the march, economic inequality, environmental uncertainty.
There’s plenty to worry about.
However, as I talk with my various artist friends, that same worry about the future is also followed by plans for future works. Not one has told me they plan to break off from their art practices.
I genuinely hate the cliche of “the starving artist” as I think it’s convenient for society to think of us as such so they can prey on us, but I also recognize that often artists are struggling in some capacity. The sailing is rarely smooth and if it is, artists know it’s usually an omen of bad times over the horizon.
For artists, struggle is either here or on its way.
This is not pessimism.
Pessimism is defined by a lack of hope for the future. Pessimists will tend to give up, but artists? Artists continue to make art, despite it all.
Artists will make art during the best and worst of times and by doing so I think we often lead the way out and document the dark.
Both are important and noble.
During the worst of the Covid pandemic there was a kind of desperate need for art. Folks were clamoring for it in a way I hadn’t experienced before. I made live tutorial videos and demonstrations for small groups of fans as well as big clients like Marvel, Disney & National Geographic.
People wanted to draw. They almost needed to draw.
That dark time was brightened a little when people took time to make something.
I say all this to say that it’s the best part of us that wants to continue making art even if we’re scared of what’s here or what’s coming.
If you’re in that head space, lean into it. Draw, paint, sculpt, sing, knit, whatever.
Stop lamenting, make your art.
The world will need you.
The End of the Day by Edmond Xavier Kapp
Two Gazan Girls Dreaming of Peace, a 2020 work by Malak Mattar.
Seán Keating (1889-1977), An Allegory, 1924.
Racism/Incident at Little Rock Domingo Ulloa, 1957
References:
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/art-and-photography-in-the-blitz
https://www.admiddleeast.com/story/best-palestinian-artists-you-need-to-know-about
https://www.nationalgallery.ie/visit-us/self-guided-tours/through-lens-tour-irish-history
My kid has a great Substack. Please go follow her!
My Kickstarter campaign for Life Studied Vol. 2 is officially done and I’m thrilled by all the support we got from folks like you.
THANK YOU!
We also unlocked a bunch of our stretchgoals.
More info on that here.
Thanks again!
We’re already planning our next campaign! I’ll launch a Kickstarter for Hysteria: One Man Gang #2 as soon as the Life Studied campaign is fulfilled.
Sneak peek here - https://www.patreon.com/posts/hysteria-way-pt-123739918
I’m working my way through a batch of cover-quality commission list. Here’s the latest piece
Super fun stuff!
Thank you, everyone.
Your boy,
Mike
PS - You can support my work AND get amazing Blackwing pencils like the ones I use at my link: https://blackwing602.com/mikehawthorne