“Take a long slow look at the subject, then draw as quickly as the mind remembers it”
Viktoras was a superb minimalist graphic artist. His line is effortless, soaring or sinking in a free flow.
Expression is spontaneous in his quick sketches – be they nudes or Trio of musicians. They express the pulsating rhythm of the music with the positions of their bodies and instruments. Viktoras doesn’t force meaning upon the onlooker.
Those who delight in examining the details of his works are in for a great surprise and realise how much freedom of interpretation he gives the public. This trait is so compatible with his character for he was a most generous man. He also uses a great deal of juxtaposition, in a series of graphic art pictures which are so intriguing.
Take for instance the pen and ink picture Before the Race. The leader in the middle has a set jaw and an authoritarian expression, the two “mates or onlookers” on the left don’t seem too bright and are quite submissive. This is well accentuated with their square heads and forward leaning torsos, while the other two figures on the right side are straight and display a more nonchalant attitude.
Reclining Nude – Pen and ink, 1972
Trio I – Wide nib and ink
Before the Race – Pen and ink, c~1985
“The pen is as mighty as you think it is”
“As a friend I found him totally loyal, honest in art likes and dislikes and why? He would humorously bring me down on earth when my imagination got the better of me. We came both on the same ship “Skaugum” to Australia and had contact with the Lithuanian contingent on board.”
“He liked smoking, and did so for 46 years. Then the day he turned 60, after a habitual daily pack of 20 non-filters, he crumpled up the last packet and never smoked again.”
“He loved helping out the Lithuanian Community in Melbourne with his art. But he never put forward his name for election to the community’s Executive Committee. That was not out of shyness, but rather due to his knowing that his art would serve the community best.”
July 2016
Carved Surfaces
So why was woodcut so popular in Lithuanian art?
The Wash Series
the kitchen after dinner, it was full of cigarette smoke and busting through the haze, a Planet Lamp with a 60 watt bulb spread its light onto the table
Mono-printing
Ink up a sheet of glass, lightly lay down a sheet of paper - draw. Depending on the pressure and fineness of the drawing tool, your line will...
