Essays on the Art of Thomas Hoppe
"Miss Viola" - Introduction
Explore the artistic journey behind Miss Viola, one of the 7 Oracles in Tommy Hoppe’s work, whose origins lie in the delicate balance between geometry, a viola's acoustic curves, and the stars of Ursa Minor.
"Miss Viola" - Part 1
Dive into the depths of "Miss Viola’s Room," where art meets complexity and each stroke of paint holds a puzzle, reflecting the enigmatic relationship between a figure and her environment.
"Miss Viola" - Part 2
Join Tommy Hoppe as he reflects on the interplay between geometry and art in his painting of Miss Viola's Room, offering a deep dive into the creative process and the philosophical underpinnings that guide his artistic decisions.
"Miss Viola" - Part 3: Ascending The Stairs
Traverse the 7th floor with Tommy Hoppe and discover how Miss Viola's existence within the manor mirrors the human struggle between the need for structure and the quest for freedom, reflecting deep artistic and psychological themes.
Beyond Basics: Advanced Drawing with Blackwing
Learning to draw like everyone else is not a very complex matter. You can use any pencil you want. If you want to learn my technique, you need to use Blackwing pencils. They are higher quality than other brands and they have properties which make them more suitable for shading with a sharp point.
Symphonic Cubism
"Want to try analytical cubism? It’s super fun. Pick an interesting object to draw, place it on the table, and start drawing it. Then after a period of time, keep your eye locked in place on the doll, pivot / turn the doll in some interesting way and keep drawing. Pivot again as you please. There are no rules. My advice is to remain acutely aware of how the whole thing is going to balance as a composition in the end.
Your finished design is rightfully considered to be art that plays in the 4th dimension… aka Time."
Your finished design is rightfully considered to be art that plays in the 4th dimension… aka Time."
An Introduction to "Macro-Harmony"
"And how great it was to recognize this… to observe the smaller constituent parts of a painting and feel their mood… stepping back we see those parts fall in conflict with the one another, yet standing even further back we are struck by harmony of all kinds."
"Peruvian Snail Mug"
"My family home is like a history museum - Art and artifacts from all over the world intermingle seamlessly. It’s quite surreal - Portuguese puppets, voodoo dolls, Tibetan mountain horns, porcelain elephants, exotic bird cages, Chinese peasant paintings… The list goes on and on."