Jono Dry was a Juror in our 7th Edition.

Who are you?

Based in Cape Town, South Africa and entirely self taught, I have worked for the last fourteen years on creating a practice centred around my large-scale hyperrealist graphite works.

What inspired you to utilize drawing as a medium? 

I grew up in a very creative household and my mom particularly encouraged me to draw. I was always creative during school and as I grew older I found myself constantly returning to drawing to find peace and solace from a schooling system that wasn’t necessarily catered towards me. I think my choice in medium is largely due to the accessibility to graphite during primary education - the safety and familiarity of pencils lead me to stick to it and overtime it became the cornerstone of my creativity. Over the years I have grown to love how elemental the medium of graphite is to us as humans. One of the oldest forms of inscription, graphite has lent itself to the hand-made mark of scientists, artists, cartographers, builders, draughtsmen and explorers. From being marked on the wall of a construction site to becoming a vehicle to pour out imagination onto a piece of paper. A foundation for most artworks, drafting ideas and mapping thoughts that you then might erase - there is the safety and comfort to change your mind.

How would you describe your work?

I mostly enjoy reading fantasy realism novels and I guess I would love to describe my work as something along those lines. I love realism but I find it a bit boring to just depict what I see and to rather try add a moment of surrealism to the work to try capture the sense of wonder I used to find so often as a child. 

Can you walk us through the technical steps of creating your work?

The cornerstone of every artwork is the time I take to personally photograph my references with the careful attention to lighting. Consulting elements of the fibonacci spiral and the aesthetics of a well-balanced composition, I work with the reference to a point from which I can base the drawing. From there I settle down for nearly 2 months of focus and observation, constantly shifting from the intricate details of an iris to the overall composition expanding across the paper. 

Can you talk about your biggest learning experience during the process of creating your work?

There are so many, I guess the first one that comes to mind right now is, early on in my career I was asked to work on a wine label. I didn’t want to do it and felt they needed to use a graphic designer to do the work rather than an artist. Especially because every time I submitted the work they would ask for changes, meaning I had to redraw everything or erase a lot of work. It was just an awful experience which lead to possibly the worst drawing I have ever done. From that I made a point to never do commission work ever again. 

The truth is, I am constantly learning. Along time ago I committed to a curiosity in my practice that has allowed me to see both process and failure as the crucial steps to success. This has slowly chipped away at the fear of failure I think all of us have, and allowed me to take some risks with new mediums, tools and techniques. 

Can you discuss your biggest success since starting your artistic journey?

I have recently celebrated finally working as a fully independent artist, managing the sale and exhibition of my works directly from my own studio. This has been a dream of mine for a long time, and it is a huge milestone to have reached. Of course there are challenges but none that diminish the sense of achievement and gratitude I feel to the people that I've formed relationships with over the years. Although working with galleries and agents was crucial for my practice at the start - aiming towards financial independence has always been a priority for me. Adopting an entrepreneurial mindset and educating myself in the business behind the art world lead me to diversifying my income to alleviate the pressure on my original artworks.

What projects are you working on currently? Can you discuss them?

Amongst experimenting with large-scale charcoal artworks, a piece I have been planning for years is finally coming to fruition and I am so excited to see how it turns out. My studio is grown into an extremely productive creative space that is soon to be the foundation for a short course in professional education for emerging creatives. We are still busy designing the most practical and productive curriculum and can’t wait to share it with the world! 

What is your dream project or piece you hope to accomplish?

I guess it’s not so much a project that I want to accomplish but more a refinement of skills and knowledge I really want to try get to. I dream of being so comfortable with my medium and understanding of anatomy and texture that I can essentially become a conduit for my subconscious to sketch on the paper and feel proud that it captures a similar sense of detail and realism that at the moment I can only get from using a reference image. I want to push this into a more abstract space, not even having the work depict the human form so much anymore but rather a hint of it. It's all very hard to describe well but they’re exciting thoughts to work towards.

Lastly, I like to ask everyone what advice they would give to their fellow artists, what is your advice?

I would say incorporate an element of mindfulness into your practice. Doing things like acknowledging when your work makes you anxious and becoming comfortable with that space. Knowing that I am going to feel uncomfortable many times during an artwork and viewing each of those moments as practise and growth has helped me build a healthy feedback loop to some big barriers I used to struggle with. 

To view more of Jono Dry’s work

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