Hail | Ink Illustration from my new art series, Fear

I'm currently working on a series of ink drawings inspired by ukiyo-e, demons and the human condition.

What is the human condition? Thats a very good question. Very few people truly understand what it is, and with these artworks I want to delve into it a bit deeper and explore what the human condition really is. Here is an excerpt from Jeremy Griffith's book Freedom, which nicely summarises the human condition:

The human condition arises from the existence of so-called ‘good and evil’ in our make-up. We humans are capable of shocking acts of inhumanity like rape, murder and torture and our agonising predicament or ‘condition’ has been that we have never been able to explain and thus understand why. Even in our everyday behaviour, why are we competitive, aggressive and selfish when clearly the ideals of life are to be the complete opposite, namely cooperative, loving and selfless?

You can read more of Jeremy Griffith's book here.

I am hugely inspired by ukiyo-e, which is a style of Japanese woodblock prints and painting. Artists such as Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, and Toshio Saeki have been an influence on the style I have developed for my new artwork series.

In total, I want to have 10 artworks in this series which will all be done using ink on Arches.

Hail
Ink on paper, 28x40cm

I would love to know what you think of this style. Let me know if you would like to do another post showing you the process of how I draw these artworks.

Artwork and prints for sale. Contact me via DM on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/ronarcher_

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Cheers!

OMG Spectacular!!! you got such great use of the contrast and the dynamic composition! Reminds me a little also of Yuko Shimizu's style.

Also with regards to the human condition, try Steven Pinker's books on evolutionary psychology. I find them very compelling in trying to answer "where emotions like love, competitiveness, compassion, etc come from?"

On the other hand, keep reading whatever makes you produce work like this! :)

Thanks so much @ankapolo! I'll be sure to read some of Steven Pinker's books - cheers for the recommendation!

I've never seen Yuko Shimizu's work before, thanks for mentioning her - I just checked her art and her illustrations are amazing!

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I think that the style is quite different in its use of art and nature with the ink making a great contrast.

Cheers! The contrast is to further emphasise the idea of the 'good and evil' inside of us.

i don't know how to say, but its awesom .. i,ll resteem it

This is just so amazing.

All I will say is truly great drawing and story behind it, I really would like to see more of this drawings.

Excellent drawing, I generally like B&W art (as I keep saying my almost all my posts & comments!) but this one is very beautiful indeed. The Japanese style is also very impressive here, as is the whole design with all the arrows and their details. I'd like to see more of this, preferably some more oni! Resteemed.

Btw, your picture reminds me of the Martyrdom of St Sebastian with a fantasy twist:

Public Domain

Yeah man right on. Striking separation of white and blacks. Strong and dynamic. Love it.