54 Artists Magazine May 2020
“These experiences are where inspi-
ration to create one’s own work is
most felt. I have had wonderful expe-
riences of enjoying art in different
collections. I liken this to losing one-
self in the beauty of a literary work
or piece of music. It’s my hope that
people will be touched in a similar and
meaningful way through my work.”STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
During a sojourn to visit museums in
New York City, Swan visited a Krispy
Kreme Doughnuts shop. Purchasing a
cup as a souvenir, he asked that it be
wrapped for his flight home. Thinking
the wrapped cup ever so interesting,
he conceived the idea for the diptych
Souvenir (above).
An item that a dinner host wrapped
in foil for transport also inspired the
artist. “It was one of those amazing
moments,” says Swan, recalling the
sculptural qualities of the package. He
later wrapped Hostess CupCakes in foil
to use as the subjects for Tinfoil No. 1
and Tinfoil No. 2 (both opposite).
“I always think it’s interesting
to show something that’s the same
thing. When hung in proximity to oneanother, people can compare them
to see similarities and differences,
and how they relate to each other,”
says Swan. “When I’m creating them,
though, I don’t really think about how
they will look in an exhibition. I’ll think
about that when the time comes. I just
work in series and find it important
to have a minimum of two works in
progress at the same time; otherwise,
I may not be sure about something and
change it, and then I’m still not sure.
What it needs at that point is to be put
away for a few days while I work on
something else. Afterwards, I can see it
much better. That makes a big differ-
ence when it comes to deciding what
needs to be changed.”A MATERIAL WORLD
Working in different media is integral
to Swan’s exploration of a subject.
Most of his drawings, accomplished in
graphite and white Conté, are created
as complete works unto themselves
rather than as studies for his oils or
watercolors. His facility for drawing is
evinced in his explorations of coffee
packages, cups and wrappers. Swan
uses the full range of Staedtler pencils,from soft to hard, to obtain his aston-
ishingly wide breadth of values. For
his darkest darks, he employs Faber-
Castell Pitt oil-based pencils. He uses
fingers, tissues and stumps in com-
bination with fine crosshatching to
achieve his masterful control of value,
nuanced transitions and edge qualities.
General’s white pencils and erasers
bring out highlights. Swan prefers
gray-toned Stonehenge paper and typ-
ically works on a 15x22 sheet. Such
a drawing takes close to two weeks to
complete, working 9 hours a day.
Birchwood panels with a light coat
of gesso and Apollon’s No. 13 fine-
weave canvas are the artist’s choice
for oil painting. Swan mostly uses
filbert brushes made by Deserres or
Princeton, in sizes ranging from No.
4 for details to No. 24 for large back-
ground areas. He also uses Raphaël
rounds and Raphaël Kaërell filberts.
To facilitate drying, he occassionally
uses Winsor & Newton Liquin, and
his preferred oil paint is Gamblin.
Despite using a broad palette of
colors, the artist is partial to a min-
imalist approach, using neutralized
colors rather than an array of hues.Souvenir
oil on wood, 11x21