Essays on the Art of Thomas Hoppe
Introduction to Miss Viola
Her name is Miss Viola… She is one of the 7 Oracles that you will see in my work. I designed her while living in the Barn (1996-2000). I was, at this point, 2 or 3 years removed from the influence of other artists or teachers.
Miss Viola - Part 2: "Miss Viola's Room"
Questions naturally arise about Miss Viola - her identity, gaze, the nature of her room, her connection to the surrounding environment, and her thoughts. From the outset, as introduced in the first image of this series, there is a point of consciousness that is always hidden.
Miss Viola - Part 3: Ascending The Stairs
This corridor, with its ascending staircase, is more than a path through a manor; it can be thought of as a journey through the psyche where Miss Viola is a sort of "thought being"... Her resistance to structure is reminiscent of the human condition itself — our simultaneous desire for freedom and tendency to construct our own limitations...
Beyond Basics: Advanced Drawing with Blackwing
Learning to draw like everyone else is not a very complex matter. You can use any pencil you want. If you want to learn my technique, you need to use Blackwing pencils. They are higher quality than other brands and they have properties which make them more suitable for shading with a sharp point.
Symphonic Cubism
"Want to try analytical cubism? It’s super fun. Pick an interesting object to draw, place it on the table, and start drawing it. Then after a period of time, keep your eye locked in place on the doll, pivot / turn the doll in some interesting way and keep drawing. Pivot again as you please. There are no rules. My advice is to remain acutely aware of how the whole thing is going to balance as a composition in the end.
Your finished design is rightfully considered to be art that plays in the 4th dimension… aka Time."
Your finished design is rightfully considered to be art that plays in the 4th dimension… aka Time."
An Introduction to "Macro-Harmony"
"And how great it was to recognize this… to observe the smaller constituent parts of a painting and feel their mood… stepping back we see those parts fall in conflict with the one another, yet standing even further back we are struck by harmony of all kinds."
"Peruvian Snail Mug"
"My family home is like a history museum - Art and artifacts from all over the world intermingle seamlessly. It’s quite surreal - Portuguese puppets, voodoo dolls, Tibetan mountain horns, porcelain elephants, exotic bird cages, Chinese peasant paintings… The list goes on and on."