Artist Tony Cockrell draws animals from life. Through observation there is a remembering and in drawing there is an embellishment burnished into the remembering through the documentation of details. This seeing becomes a type of meditation where ten minutes becomes very still and shadows move positions. When drawing wildlife, moments are so paper thin that everything must be fluid between the eye and the hand. This translates to only a few glances downward at the drawing.
Lines are applied quickly, shadows recognized, direction of fur or feather filaments indicated so that the initial drawing has a field documentation quality to it. Notes, memory and sometimes photos are used to later complete the drawing.
Because the drawing is a record of these many aspects coming together from a life drawing setting, accuracy through proportion, which is a quality of biological illustration, is not always a priority, and, actually, certain aspects that are remarkable about that animal may be purposefully over-emphasized in the drawing. The finished artwork hides the underlying process of its origin– all completed things believe their beginnings. The process in which he choose to create these works, he believes, is unique enough to share and worthy enough to explore together.
Acrylic and ink on paper 8 1/2" x 11"
11" x 17" giclee prints (not framed)
8 1/2" x 11" giclee prints (not framed)
Handmade blank note cards