Sebastian Aravena vertseven.art

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Ink & Paint

What is the “tradition” in traditional art? Is it that when a brush carries liquid ink, watercolor, gouache, oil, or acrylic onto a surface, there is an uncertainty that every artist feels? No matter how long one has been working in a fluid medium, that first stroke is unnerving.

I don’t doubt Jackson Pollock felt the same when the first drop of paint landed on the canvas. Or that a writer questions the importance of the words they have just added to a new page.

But by the end, the last detail delivered by the tiniest bristles makes the piece complete, and there is a departure from the artist’s consciousness. And then it is off to the next work of art (in the end, the tradition of moving on).

Pen & Pencil

To many, a sheet of paper is nothing but a disposable object for jotting notes. But, by the same token, it is a surface for pen, graphite, colored pencils, and markers where creativity flourishes. Smooth hot press or rough cold press are just characteristics of the final piece.

One can feel the lines, hatches, and fills of ink as it is raised on hot press paper. On cold press you can see the minute imperfections in the lines drawn over its bumpy tooth.

Markers and pencils (both graphite and colored) meticulously blend to look smooth and dimensional. Dip, ball point, gel, and fountain pens are hatched to create a loose and gestural feeling. In brief, more than just disposable.

Stylus & Mouse

Decades of experience as a graphic designer creating raster and vector computer images and illustrations is, of course, a hard art form to abandon.

Building layers upon layers, creating highlights, shadows, masks, tones, levels, and effects for what, sometimes, at the end is finally “just” a simple graphic.

A strong eye for detail using a medium where a viewer zooms in (to an infinite value) naturally makes for the essential perfectionist.

The viewer may not see the slightest of stray lines, but the digital artist can spot every pixel that is off. Regardless of the medium, canvas, or way of presenting, it is all traditional art. That first brush stroke here is as impactful as one upon paper.