Tag Archives: drawing

The Landscapes of the Face

Posted on August 17, 2026 by JMN

The landscapes of the face possessAnd repossess my hand. Even stillIt’s on the move: peak, fissure, defile;Shadow here, just there a vegetation,A blink, a snout, a rumination —Fondest barbarism captured yet!The face solicits pen and ink to nail the stink,Charcoal, … Continue reading →

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Confession

Posted on August 5, 2026 by JMN

I confess to a proclivity (morbid?) for depicting faces in various states of contortion. A face at rest, unless it’s grizzled or reflective of a corrupt soul, has bland contours. States of agitation are what lay bare the deserts, mountains … Continue reading →

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Paul Thek, Practitioner of ‘Crude Figuration’

Posted on July 16, 2026 by JMN

Although Thek possessed impressive skills as a draftsman and painter, he was an early practitioner of the crude figuration of “bad painting” (a term coined by Marcia Tucker, the founder of the New Museum). I don’t know how seriously to … Continue reading →

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Of the 40 ‘Best’ Illustrations, 4 Are Good

Posted on December 29, 2025 by JMN

Sadly, many of the New York Times’s “best” Illustrations of 2025 are animated, removing them from consideration. Many others are merely garish, or negligible in diverse ways. Not a good year for illustration, but for the craver of artful graphics … Continue reading →

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Beauford Delaney: ‘A Yearning for Ornament’

Posted on December 18, 2025 by JMN

It leaves more room to follow what’s actually happening on the paper. … Though he drew them with confidence and care, you can see him yearning to ornament and exalt his subjects rather than just transcribe them. … The pulsing … Continue reading →

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Inwardness, Tenderness, Political Rage

Posted on October 6, 2025 by JMN

***“I hate being called poet/dramatist/translator/director. Poet covers it all for me… I want to do justice to my inwardness, my tenderness, my political rage.” (Tony Harrison)*** ***… como una mosca espía…… like a fly on the wall… [“a spy fly”!](From “Revuelo” … Continue reading →

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Guide for the Perplexed

Posted on July 1, 2025 by JMN

“… When I don’t know what to do next, I tend to throw everything at it, be as expressive or as minimalist or as detailed as I can, reach for bright colours or keep it monochrome, look intensely or scribble … Continue reading →

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Toyin Ojih Odutola Draws Loud

Posted on May 25, 2025 by JMN

I like how Toyin Ojih Odutola assembles faces from facets, a treatment I strive increasingly, if feebly, to approximate. I describe it to myself in personal shorthand as “envisaging”: implementing visage as a sort of ‘scape rather than anatomical likeness … Continue reading →

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I Need Some Writer’s Block

Posted on March 26, 2025 by JMN

Really, I should draw, paint and read more, write less. It’s a constant struggle to pipe down.  Poetry, for one thing, triggers me. Intending to read a bait of versifying, before I know it I’m a keyboard Roman candle ejaculating … Continue reading →

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Sketch-Read: Patrick Dundon

Posted on December 14, 2024 by JMN

See ifYou canFind thePoem’sTriggerPull it (JMN) Patrick Dundon’s “Gratitude” says this: […] Sure my mother did not hold me enough,too tempted by the specter of satiety only alcohol can bring. It’s a piece of important nonsense; a specter is terrifying, … Continue reading →

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