We're excited to be holding another incredible show of Coloured Pencil Drawings by Dusan Postolovic!
His current show "Never Grow Up" is on from now until July 27th with 12 new pieces... all inspired by LEGO and childhood JOY!
We asked Dusan some questions to share with you, read below to see what he has to say!
(Read all the way to the bottom and find a links Dusan's show album and album of entire works with us)
Why did you decide to draw LEGO?
In recent years I have been more and more inspired to draw items or "things" from my own personal history or from popular culture, that hold some sort of story, significance or nostalgia. I find it facinating that mundane, everyday objects from our past, can have an immense impact on us as people, and I enjoy elevating these objects into the realm of "art" where otherwise they may not be considered as such.
This series of LEGO works was actually inspired by one particular item, which was the first drawing in this collection the Black Sea Barracuda pirate ship.
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| (SOLD) Black Sea Barracuda, Coloured Pencil on Watercolour Paper, 31.5"x37.5" |
From there, a wider idea for a whole series of works emerged, namely one of drawing and turning into art, other significant lego pieces from my childhood, pieces that my son now plays with, and pieces that were uniquely significant to him as he has grown up. I wanted to relay that story of growing up across generations (me growing up and my son growing up) through the pieces I included in this show. Undoutedly and hopefully, some of these themes and memories can also resonate with people who come see the show, and hopefully this can hold true for viewers across generations - both young and old!
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Top:
Choo Choo Train, Coloured Pencil on Watercolour Paper, 15"x25"
Bottom:
Left: Motorcycle Guy, Coloured Pencil on Watercolour Paper, 11"x14"
Right: Tow Truck, Coloured Pencil on Watercolour Paper, 11"x14"
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This is also where the name "Never Grow Up" came from for the show. The phrase speaks to the general suggestion to everyone to stay young at heart, but is also a very personal message to my own son (and probably for other parents who have young kids) and that is one of not wanting to see him grow up and lose his innocence - of course, seeing him grow up is great and we enjoy seeing him develop and get older, but at the same time it is kind of sad to know that once the younger years are gone, we will never have them again.
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| Crocodile, Coloured Pencil on Watercolour Paper, 19"x25" |
Is there a personal connection to the pirate LEGO set?
The first drawing or piece I did in this collection, the Black Sea Barracuda, was actually a set that had always elluded me growing up, and some 30 years later, was a set that still held and holds a mythical place in my heart. For some reason it resonated strongly with me as a child, and still does to this day, and I can't really explain why. Where the set was so hard to obtain and where I had essentially written it off as unattainable due to its rarity and price, I decided to turn it into a piece of art, almost like a relic from my own personal time. I had many other lego pirate sets from that period, but the ship was one I never owned and there was never even a prospect of being able to own it, it was my white whale!
Crew of the Black Sea Barracuda - available as drawings
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Collage of four individual drawings
Top: "Port Broadside","First Mate Rummy"
Bottom: "Captain Redbeard","Lady Anne Anchor"
(All coloured pencil on watercolour paper, 16"x20", all four sold seperately)
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What made you decide to use Coloured Pencils as your medium?
I personally like coloured pencil as my medium of choice because of how much time each piece takes to create. I think it adds more importance and relevance to the work. I have to be much more thoughtful and careful with what I choose to draw, and for me it has to have some reason to be made into "art" or I generally won't do it. I can't afford to spend weeks or months on a piece where halfway through I end up not being in love with the subject matter that the piece is representing.
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| Snow Speeder, Coloured Pencil on Watercolour Paper, 19"x25" |
I think the medium is also one that many people can relate to or understand; I enjoy the fact that there is very little room for error when using the medium - I can't simply erase it or paint over it. So that basically sums it up - the finality of the medium and the length of time the work takes really speak to me.
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| Rocket Man, 4"x5" Coloured Pencil on Paper |
What motivates you to create art?
Positively impacting the viewer is ultimately what motivates me to create. I hope that my work evokes memories and feelings of nostalgia in the viewer. I also aim to have the viewer think a little deeper when looking at the work and ask themselves why I may have chosen a particular subject matter to draw, or why a series of works is such. I always have many layers of story and reason behind why I choose to draw certain things, and even why I choose to have a series contain the pieces that it does, beyond just what each piece looks like or how cool it may be to see. I hope to make the viewer curious in that regard, and perhaps try to figure this out themselves when looking at the pieces on the wall!
After a great first week of the show Dusan's lovely parents stopped by the gallery to visit and see! We heard wonderful things from them about Dusan's keen interest in art from an early age.
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| Dusan's parents posed in front of his work. |
"He was better with coloured pencils than a spoon" - Dusan's mom on her son's artistic interests as since early childhood
Thank you for reading this blog about Dusan's show and artistic inspiration!
Follow this
LINK to see the full "NEVER GROW UP" show and follow this
LINK to see Dusan's entire album of artworks available through the gallery.
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