Size matters: a review of The Big Kopinski

What compels the visual artist to draw?

Editions Caurette have a new art book: the Big Kopinski. This book is mainly a collection of sketches from artist Karl Kopinski, and in fact represents sketches which were previously collected in books by the artist. Those older books are now out of print and so The Big Kopinski represents a rare trove of art which has been unavailable for a while.

Before we go on there’s one thing I have to get off my chest:

This book really ties the room together. There, I said it.

Something someone far wiser than me once said is: get a job doing what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. Karl’s words provide a slightly different take on this saying. He points out he has a job doing what he loved doing when he was 5, but he works hard. Other artists he know are the same, doing what they love and working hard.

The results of Karl’s hard work are there to see throughout this book. Sketches doesn’t really do justice to what is presented here. Fully formed characters leap off the page, challenging you with a look, or an insouciant glance. other character ignore the viewer, intent on their own concerns.

The characters never look samey, each is an individual, and in their facial expressions we can see a new story laid before us. It’s up to our imaginations as viewers to tell this story, and I think that’s the way Karl wants it.

Above all what we see here is the work of an artist who cannot stop creating art. These aren’t commissions, but work for his hands. The results are pleasing to the eye; a result of a lifetime spend honing a craft. behind it all stands the soul of the artist, relentless in its drive to create.

Draw because you want to; draw because you can do no other; draw because you must.