The top award-winners in the Strokes of Genius 13 art competition captured their subjects in unique and unexpected ways.
It’s impossible to introduce this year’s Strokes of Genius competition without acknowledging the complex societal changes affecting our world. From the global pandemic to the push for social justice reform to the urgent climate crisis and uptick of catastrophic weather events, the way we live is changing in a profound way. As we undergo this collective reshaping of daily life, it inspires—even spills into—the art we create.
The theme of resiliency threads through this stunning collection of artwork and reveals to us how the creative spirit has endured. For many, the mere act of creating has provided a space to process pain and loss, embrace the uncertainty of the future, and also connect with each other and the natural world.
As you engage with this showcase of images spanning a variety of media and subjects, we hope you find not only useful techniques and artistic inspiration but also gratitude for the beauty that stirs us, even in times of hardship.
First Place Winner: Joshua Knight
A honed method and meticulous attention to detail work together to create a prize-winning portrait.
By Rebecca Dvorak
Joshua knight’s first place, award-winning drawing, 11 Weeks, was inspired by a long-awaited pregnancy. After trying for three years to conceive, the artist and his wife welcomed a baby boy into the world on July 5th, 2021. “11 Weeks explores fertility, strength, and protection through the use of dramatic light, shadow, and symbolism,” says Knight.
The artist used the principle of the golden spiral to pull the viewer’s eye up towards the figure and then on to the pomegranate in her right hand at the front of her stomach. He intentionally cut the pomegranate, revealing the fertile seeds and indicating the passing of time. He elaborates further saying, “The model, my wife, rests three full fingers on top of her stomach to represent the number of years we tried to conceive,” Knight explains. “She’s also displaying a look of disbelief on her face with her head slightly tilted back as if to say ‘No way, are we really pregnant?’” The dogs surrounding the model also symbolize fertility, protection, and strength. “As with most of my work, I tried to keep things subtle and open to interpretation by the viewer, using symbolism to talk about the narrative at play,” he says.
These details are what drew Strokes of Genius juror of awards Cuong Nguyen to the winning piece. “This composition is so interesting, with the dogs in the front and the main character in the back,” says Nguyen. “The woman is sitting on the sofa, tiredly looking at the viewer. She’s loved and protected by the dogs surrounding her. Technically, the artist uses light and shadow to create a drawing that looks like a black-and-white painting. The details are stunning—especially the dogs’ fur and heads. Their eyes are also quite lively. There are lots of objects in this drawing, but it’s not busy at all. The artist knows how to play with composition, so all the attention is on the female figure. She’s telling us her own story here. I love this drawing and admire the artist’s artistic point of view and talent.”
Artistic Process
Knight first explored the idea for 11 Weeks by completing a series of small sketches before shooting his own reference photos. He started by blocking in the composition with vine charcoal to establish proportions, darks, lights, and the overall tone and emotion of the piece. “Tone is high on my list of ‘to dos’ when starting a drawing,” Knight says. “I like to try to establish a certain emotion during the block-in stage. If I can establish the overall tone early, then it gives me high hopes for the outcome of the piece.”
After the initial composition was established, he did a wipe out of the drawing to tone the paper and leave a faint structural drawing from which to work. For 11 Weeks, the artist tried a new technique after observing Annie Murphy’s work on Instagram. “I’m not very experienced with this technique,” he says, “but you essentially draw with sandpaper. It’s similar to using a blending stump or paper towel, yet on a whole different level.”
After the block-in and wipe down, Knight started rendering the head with compressed charcoal. He placed the eyes, nose, and mouth in relationship to one another and the surrounding structure. He used the sight-size method of measurement to confirm the placement felt correct and then began working on the eyes, moving outward from there. He held out on any real details until he had the majority rendered to the same level. This allowed him to make sure the focal points remained dominant and the support characters didn’t take over. Throughout the process, he focused on the subtle changes of light and edges that fascinate him. Nguyen commented on this aspect specifically, calling it “an outstanding drawing with a beautiful ‘chiaroscuro’ technique. It reminds me of Caravaggio’s technique of using light and shadow.”
That moment between the block-in and the details is Knight’s favorite part of the process. “It’s that ah-ha moment when things start to come together—before the overthinking and doubt creeps in,” he says.
Creative Journey
Knight has always been drawn to portraits and figurative work. “My subject matter typically evolves around my everyday life,” he says. “I’m fascinated by relationships and the idea of everything being connected—from the artist to the sitter, and from sitter to viewer.” The connection of the lights to the darks, the subtle edges, atmosphere, emotion, composition, and placement are what hold the artist’s attention.
Knight began truly investing in his portrait work in high school when he and his art teacher organized a business doing com-missions for faculty in order to buy materials for the art department. The venture really boosted his confidence. “Knowing that people wanted my work and were willing to pay for it—just the idea that I could get paid to do something I have a real passion for—gave me the drive to pursue art at a higher level,” he says.
Second Place Winner: Bly Pope
An artist turns portraits of loved ones into masterpieces of familial affection.
By Jenn Rein
“Regarding technique,” says juror of awards Cuong Nguyen, “it’s clear that the artist has good drawing skills, and his knowledge about value is excellent,” but Bly Pope’s second-place-winning drawing My Father, Tom Pope, grabbed Nguyen’s attention on a deeper level as well. “I love the way the artist portrays his father, with the eyes staring straight at the viewer,” he says. “When I look at this piece, I can’t help but feel curious about what was on the subject’s mind. I admire the beautiful details as well as the patience the artist had to have to create them. Most of all, the emotion of this drawing wins my heart, and that’s why I chose it as one of the top three.”
Pope’s intent behind the photorealistic portrait was anchored in the intelligence behind his father’s eyes. “He’s a professor who just retired,” Pope says. “He taught Shakespeare and film, and great directors like Hitchcock and Kubrick. He was actually a screenwriter for more than 25 years in Hollywood before he became a teacher. He’s very sharp and observant, and I wanted the drawing to convey this through his lively, bright eyes.”
The artist finds himself hard at work trying to document those people in his life who are close to his heart. “I’m in this ‘masterpiece’ mindset,” he says. “When I’m not doing commissions, I want to spend a year or two (or more) on creating lasting mementos of the people I love.” This latest piece depicting his father’s intense, wise eyes is part of a family of works that include portraits of Pope’s mother and grandmother. “When I’m creating,” he says, “I’m remembering these moments in my life. That contributes to the quality of the piece—it’s almost a meditative process.”
As a finalist in the Smithsonian’s triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, in 2013, with his grandmother’s portrait, Maryanna, Pope’s contribution to photorealism within the parameters of these works is nothing but personal.
Tailoring Technique
Pope uses a single reference photo to create his photorealistic pieces and does so with a grid system that has been tailored to his own unique perception and ability to “see” the finished drawing throughout the creation process. “I print off the image in the actual size I want the drawing to be, then cut it up into rectangles,” he says. To create My Father, Tom Pope, for example, the artist carved out 20 rectangles. He then layers sections of the photo on top of the drawing, flipping up a section of photo as he works on the drawing beneath. (To see a video of this process, visit Minneapolis Institute of Art’s YouTube channel.)
Pope adapts to the manner in which his brain processes data by modifying the traditional grid technique, as used by photorealists such as Chuck Close. “I’m envisioning the after-image in my mind as I’m drawing on the paper,” he says. “That allows me to translate the photographic information as accurately and truthfully as I can. I want to be faithful to the photo.” Pope takes hundreds of photographs of his subject, selecting the image that he feels most authentically reflects the person’s spirit.
The artist’s tools include mechanical pencils, mechanical eraser sticks, micron pens, and Q-tips. “It sounds like a weird choice, but a Q-tip really serves to soften the marks that create the scaffolding that’s the underlayer,” he says. Pope’s use of value, which was clearly admired by the juror, starts with addressing the darkest darks and the lightest of lights. He describes the direction to which the values led him in this particular drawing, “From the top left of his forehead down to the bottom right of his chin,” says the artist.
Structure vs. Fluidity
Pope is drawn to photorealism because he loves the approach—in all its structured methodology, but he also believes that artists shouldn’t limit themselves to a single genre. “I taught myself how to use oils because a client wanted a series of sea-birds,” Pope says. “I think, as an artist, you have to continue to adapt—and a broader skillset simply makes you more adaptable.”
When viewing the work he has accomplished in oil, one can easily see Pope’s ability to depict nature with a deep sense of accuracy in light and shadow. But there’s also an open, gestural style to his oil paintings that seems to contradict the structure that’s needed for the work he accomplishes in pencil. “I like the meticulous detail of the pencil drawings,” Pope says, “but that work is far less loose and expressive than the kind of work I was doing back in college. The oil brings out that expressiveness.”
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