Joe Fenton started in sculpture, moved into concept art for the film industry and then transitioned into children’s book illustration. He also creates the large scale drawings shown above, which I assume are gallery pieces.
For these, Fenton works initially in a detailed graphite drawing, then works over that in ink and acrylic or gouache. The drawings are large in scale, as you can see from the photo of him working on the top drawing, “Solitude”, in its pencil stage.
“Solitude” is 8ft x 5ft (243 x 152cm), and took 10 months to complete.
Fenton’s intricate, highly realized drawings emphasize value contrasts and tonal shading to achieve a stunningly dimensional quality, and evidence his experience as a sculptor. These drawings are almost monochromatic, but his use of gradations and textural details give them a rich variety of surface quality.
His subjects and influences draw on Aisian mythology, Northern Renaissance art and contemporary pop culture, with a bit of M.C. Escher and Arthur Rackham thrown in for good measure; creating a wild visual stew of eclectic elements.
Fenton’s books include What’s Under the Bed? and Boo!. He is currently working on his third book.
Unfortunately, the gallery on his website is a bit awkward to navigate, requiring the selection of a third level in a drop-down menu to access each drawing. You may find it easier to initially browse his gallery on Behance Network. In addition, there is a brief interview with the artist on My Modern Metropolis, accompanied by illustrations.
Fenton offers giclee prints of some of his drawings.
