Artist Jono Dry discusses his hyperrealistic graphite drawing technique and shares his inspirational story with us
Jono Dry is a self-taught South African artist based in Cape Town. He uses his art as an antidote to his ADD and as a way to express himself and his emotions in ways that words have always failed him and ultimately fail most people. After over a decade of dedication and hardships trying to make it as an artist, Jono is now becoming a respected figure in the art community and has amassed a large following on social media over a number of different platforms where he receives a lot of support from amazed viewers, aspiring artists and dedicated fans from all walks of life.
In this interview, Jono discusses his uniquely adapted and beautifully expressed mental health inspired graphite-based drawing style with us. He talks about where he finds his inspiration, how he conceptualises his projects and explores some of the harder periods of his life and career with us.
Jono Dry
“ I create large-scale drawings in graphite that reflect on mental illness and its metaphors. With these drawings, I explore how one can make the experience of a state of anxiety or depression visible, particularly when those states of being so often seem inexpressible in words.”
Jono, thank you so much for taking the time and agreeing to be interviewed by Culture of Creatives! We would like to give you the chance to introduce yourself: Could you maybe talk a little bit about yourself and try to define the type of artist that you are? How would you describe the style of art that you create? How long have you been drawing for and when did you start taking it more seriously?
Hey! Of course, it’s a pleasure to be featured. I’m a self-taught artist living and working in Cape Town, South Africa. I create large-scale drawings in graphite that reflect on mental illness and its metaphors. With these drawings, I explore how one can make the experience of a state of anxiety or depression visible, particularly when those states of so often seeming inexpressible in words. My drawings are hyperrealistic in style and surreal in content – they appear at once lifelike and dreamlike, being neither real nor imagined. I’ve worked in graphite for over ten years, teaching myself methods and techniques as I go. I have always been serious about art-making and have pursued it full-time for the past decade.
‘Mask’ - Jono Dry
We are absolutely amazed by the intricacies of your work. Could you please talk about the link between self-control and the patience required in your line of work? How do you stay focused and motivated on a piece that you have put hundreds of hours into and spent months into working on?
The irony is that I have ADD – yet I am forever working on drawings that demand time and patience and hours of focus! Learning to work with my limited attention span has been productive and rewarding but also entirely frustrating and demotivating at times. Luckily, I’ve found a way of working and certain habits that help maintain my focus – like regular breaks, good sleep, and exercise. I also listen to audiobooks as I draw to keep my mind from wandering towards distractions and away from the task at hand. That said, I do often grow tired of drawings I’m working on, but there is something in the boredom that accompanies large works which is almost meditative – a particular attention to detail and repetition. It’s part of the challenge, as is patience, and both make the accomplishment of finishing a work all the more rewarding.
‘The shadow” - Jono Dry
Do you ever start doubting yourself and start negatively amplifying things like slow progress, mistakes and micro flaws in your art? I think that most creatives can be extremely critical of themselves, and while that might—in a healthy dose—help to improve and get better at what we do, it can often also lead to hitting a wall: we lose motivation of even stop believing in ourselves. Is there any reliable remedy for this that works for you personally?
Of course! I’m not particularly concerned with flaws or mistakes – graphite is a largely forgiving medium and any error is easily fixed. But I do experience waves of doubt, particularly when I’m planning new works. There’s a lot of pressure to keep coming up with more ambitious ideas, and I have to resist returning to familiar or easier images. As for a remedy, I’m not sure there is one. Instead, I’ve come to find doubt to be quite useful. It accompanies the novel, the unexpected, the different. If I experience doubt, it is because I am taking a risk, trying something new, pushing myself conceptually and technically.
‘Return’ - Jono Dry
‘In its grip’ - Jono Dry
You often use photography as references for your art: do you do this ritually? How much research, visualisation and conceptualisation goes into an idea before you take it to the stage where you photograph props and models?
Yes, I exclusively work from photographs. The density of the detail in my drawings are such that I don’t think one can simply invent them. The creases in the skin are very particular and individual, as is the texture of a body, its curves and folds. I often use the photographic process as a thinking tool. I’ll have a rough idea of how I want an image to look, but in working with props and a model, new and unanticipated ideas will come into focus. The photographic process is very collaborative and productive. I’m not interested in poses, but in the moments in-between.
‘I am’ - Jono Dry
How do you go about finding the right models for your art and getting the props that you require?
Over the past few years, I’ve worked with the same handful of models. There is something in the familiarity that is particularly productive: a mutual understanding, a willingness to experiment, an openness to chance. Different personalities and bodies suggest different moods, and these all add layers of meaning to my drawings. While my drawings aren’t portraits exactly, each certainly reveals something of their subject. A way of being, perhaps, or a sensibility.
‘Iris’ - Jono Dry
Do you try and control as much of the positioning and posing as possible or do you encourage the model to express and incorporate their own feelings and responses into the equation as the shoot goes on?
It’s very much a collaborative process. Some models are happy to take the idea I give them and interpret it, others prefer more hands-on directions. But in the end, I only offer suggestions, the resulting pose is as much the model’s as it is mine.
‘Restrained, I unravel’ - Jono Dry
‘In pursuit, I’m entrapped’ - Jono Dry
In your personal case, how do your creative processes (internal and external) that are involved in drawing and taking pictures overlap or differ?
To my mind, taking photographs and creating drawings are a part of the same creative process as both leads to only one final image. Photographs are quick, a thinking-through-seeing. Drawings are time-consuming, slow and methodical. When I look for a photograph to draw from among the many I’ll take in a single studio session, I look for the image that is interesting enough, aesthetically and conceptually, to hold my attention for as many weeks as it will take to render in graphite. There is something about these two modes of the process – the fast and the slow, the thinking and the doing, the photo and the pencil – that keeps me engaged in the work.
‘In my silence’ - Jono Dry
There are certain themes that carry over from your work such as water, birds and horns. Can you describe why certain things stand out to you, and why you use recurring themes in your art?
The recurring motifs in my work are a part of my personal symbolism. Each is an expression or reflection on the mind or a state of mind. The animal horns appeal to those parts of us that are neither rational nor entirely human, the water to all that is fluid, changeable, and cleansing. Nothing is incidental in my work, everything planned and considered. While the meaning of the symbols is seldom ever transparent, I hope the overall mood of my images communicates their feeling.
‘Mask’ - Jono Dry
Which artists have inspired you the most over the years? Is your personal style influenced by anyone in particular or did it all come from experimentation and self-expression?
The artists that have most inspired me, particularly in the early stages of my career, are M.C. Escher and René Margritte. There is something about their experiments with perception and expectation that has always deeply resonated with me. Of course, there are many other contemporary artists that have made a lasting impression on me, like Jeremy Geddes, Kit King and Miles Johnston. That said, I don’t think my style has been influenced by anyone in particular. The way I now work is very much the result of years of experimentation with my chosen medium, and the images I create are a reflection and extension of my own experiences with mental health issues.
‘Wrapped in Tradition’ - Jono Dry
Can you try and summarise the story behind the piece of art that you would eventually become best known for – “Pupil”. Why was this such an important piece of art for you and how did you feel when it received the amount of interest and praise that it did? The title of the picture already hints at the deeper meaning that this project had for your own self-development.
In answer to this question, can I direct you to my YouTube video ‘The Hardest Drawing I’ve Ever Made’? https://youtu.be/rzOl1sjrtW4 It explains in detail the challenges of the drawing, both artistic and financial.
‘Pupil’- Jono Dry
Where can people find out more about you, follow you on your journey, and purchase any art that they may be interested in?
People can follow my work across multiple platforms, from my website to YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Limited edition prints of my work are sold via my Etsy store.
“In my silence” - Jono Dry
“Honey” - Jono Dry
New Interview uploaded every Sunday at 07:00 Eastern Standard Time
