Out now! My profile of illustrator Scott Bakal in Issue 25 of 3×3 Magazine. Here is an excerpt:

A persistent feature of Bakal’s sketchbook drawings is his continuous exploitation of the line’s potential for expression. Beyond simply establishing contours, it is a line that he unspools across surfaces like convoluted entrails; nestles against other lines to sculpt sinewy, striated forms; and repeats in arabesques to relentlessly fill space—as if he were a tattoo artist paid by the square inch.

“My line probably comes from being taught by Jack Potter and Sam Martine, who were both my instructors over 20 years ago,” reflects Bakal. “They were very contour-line heavy instructors and it never really left me. Although the quality of my line has changed—it’s become more ‘stitched’ for certain things and more flowing for others.”

What Bakal calls a stitched line is the result of linking many short, staccato gestures. In his loosest examples, the quality of this line can appear hesitant, or agitated. A sketchbook spread from his personal series “Skulls of Ultimate Death” features scratchy contour drawings of eight conventionalized skulls floating above a red and black field. The inked lines seem incised, as if Bakal is carving into a resistant surface rather than drawing on paper. Redolent of graffiti, the drawing conveys a raw immediacy.

Sandra’s work is lovely—and worth your spending time with. Read the entire profile (as well as prior articles) under Design is Play Articles. [MF]

Out now! My profile of illustrator Dale Stephanos in Issue 24 of 3×3 Magazine. Here is an excerpt:

Dale Stephanos is an illusionist who performs at least two magic tricks, both of which are transformative. The first trick is an act of creative ensoulment: the process by which Dale imbues his portraits not only with the illusion of life, but with sentience. “My obsession is really the face, the gaze,” he says. “I’m very concerned that the work feels as though it’s looking back at me with life behind the eyes.”

This impression—of a face “looking back” at the viewer—is partly achieved through blinkered framing, amorphous backgrounds, and a shallow depth of field. A charcoal drawing of Samuel Beckett typifies Dale’s approach: cropped tightly to the head, stripped of context, with ancillary details eliminated. In other portraits, soft-focus backgrounds recede and serve to thrust the foreground—always the face—toward the viewer. “Sergio Leone’s movies had a big impact on me. The way he’d linger on close-ups, building the tension, was amazing and frightening.” Generally fully frontal and with an implacable gaze, Dale’s portraits invariably draw the viewer’s attention to a set of luminous eyes.

Read the entire profile under Design is Play Articles. [MF]