Della Drees: an artist interested in the human.
Born and raised in England, a graphic designer with a PhD in Psychology, Della spends her time in Paris, London and the USA. She has searched for places that inspire the ethos of figurative observational drawing, such as the Princes Drawing School in London and Studio Escalier in Paris. She draws at the Parisienne Atelier Grande Chaumier, at the Louvre in Paris, museums in Europe and the USA and at her studio in Connecticut.
“My natural impulse is to explore, question and absorb, to perceive what nature is showing us and to translate this using the intellect and emotion. Informed by my Psychology background, I feel a mark put to paper is a direct way for our cognition to connect to the outside.
My basic tenet is to draw inspiration from life. Further, I direct my awareness towards one vital and primary source; the human body. I am constantly and irresistibly drawn to the figure; either from master works, or purposeful representational observation of the live body. Drawing and re-drawing the human form – drawing what we are – is a primary act core to all art that seeks a connection to the natural principles. When these actions intensify and ripen in a reflective way, they inform with vitality, and a more truthful and emotive work emerges to illustrate the spirit and dignity of humanity.
This record is a manifestation of an empathetic relationship; an aesthetic-emotive exchange between the instigator and the inspirer. It is an immense challenge to unite these elements. Therefore, as it is so complex, why draw anything else but the human figure?”
He who realizes the truth of the body can then come to realize the truth of the universe.
A Ratnas, or Buddist Siddhas teaching.