Cross-hatching is one of the most difficult sketching techniques to master but a young local artist has found a way to use the drawing style to tell story.
Artist Jotam Schoeman used the technique to tell the story of the lively Johannesburg.
The drawing technique is often used to create shading by drawing (engraving or painting) parallel lines and it becomes cross-hatching when the lines are placed at right angles to each other. The number, thickness and spacing of the lines changes the tone and modelling of the image helping to create an illusion of shape and angles.
“I studied the masters like Rembrant Van Rijn and Michelangelo,” says Schoeman who describes his style as “line based cross-hatching”. The style allowed him to capture Joburg’s busyness and adequately depict it in his drawings. Hatching is an old technique which has been used since the 1500s by artists in Europe such as Albrecht Dürer.
Schoeman learnt about the technique from “books with drawings from Dutch and Italian guys who are long dead,” he says. “I use it because it works for me- Through it, I can define surface, texture, volume and tonal value,” the 26 year-old says, adding that it’s impossible to actually pinpoint a South African Cross-hatching style.
On his Johannesburg01 project he says “It’s about going into different cities, study the architecture, look at characters that surround and live around the city.”
Cross-hatching might not be the most popular amongst local artists, with most opting for paint, sculpturing or other forms. Local artists such as Nathaniel Mokgosi and illustrator Vusi Khosa are some of the other names that have produced fine hatching.
“I’ve been here in Joburg on a residency for the past three months,” says Schoeman, who originally is from the capital city. Next year he plans on travelling across the country in collaboration with different artists to depict other cities through sketching.
The Johannesburg01 project runs through this month at the Rubixcube Gallery in Maboneng, Johannesburg.
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