TOM MAZZULLO
ZOOLOGY
I’ve made more drawings of zoological specimens in metalpoint than of almost any other subject. The very first artwork I made after moving to Ithaca, NY after graduate school was a drawing of an ant I found in Dewitt Park. I love the challenge of taking a complex subject, placing it in front of me, and producing not only an accurate, life-size representation of the specimen, but also an artwork that has the grace and subtlety of a finished silverpoint drawing. More than illustration, I’m trying to make expressive art, internalizing the subject and making a drawing that respects the specimen as a (once) living thing. I’ve been working from specimens I own, as well as from mounts at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and the CU Boulder Zoological Collection, with appreciation to both institutions. Two series of zoological works were exhibited at Spark Gallery as Zoology in 2015 and as Infestation in 2019. The most recent exhibit was Sometimes I Draw Birds at Pirate Contemporary in May 2022.
Northern Oriole, 2021, silverpoint on prepared paper, 7 x 7 3/4 inches
Tennessee Warbler, 2021, silverpoint on prepared paper, 6 1/2 x 7 inches
Northern Flicker, 2021, silverpoint on prepared paper, 7 1/4 x 7 3/4 inches
Hoatzin, 2021, silverpoint on prepared paper, 8 1/2 x 8 inches.
Private collection.
Snowy Egret, 2021, silverpoint on prepared paper, 10 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches
Blue Grosbeak, 2021, silverpoint on prepared paper, 7 x 7 inches
Western Tanager, 2021, silverpoint on prepared paper, 5 1/4 x 6 5/8 inches
Mountain Bluebird, female, 2021, silverpoint on prepared paper, 7 x 6 7/8 inches
Catbird, 2021, silverpoint on prepared paper, 5 5/8 x 5 1/2
Giant Grasshopper (Tropidacris dux, Anterolateral View), 2017, silverpoint on prepared paper,
7 x 10 inches
Lantern Fly (Fulgoria laternaria), 2017, silverpoint with palladium on prepared paper,
7 1/4 x 9 inches. Private collection.
Giant Scorpion (Heterometrus spinifer), 2017, silverpoint on prepared paper,
6 1/2 x 9 inches
2014 Bush Cicada (Tibicen dorsatus), 2015, silverpoint on prepared paper,
5 x 7 inches. Private collection.
Huntsman Spider (Malaysia), 2018, silverpoint on prepared paper, 7 x 10 inches
Violin Beetle (Mormolyce phyllodes), 2018, silverpoint with palladiumpoint on prepared paper, 6 7/8 x 8 inches
Northern White-eye (Zosterops palpebrosus), 2014, silverpoint on prepared paper, 7 x 11 inches
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola), 2016, silverpoint on prepared paper, 10 x 9 inches
European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), 2015, silverpoint on prepared paper, 6 1/2 x 7 inches
Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), 2014, silverpoint on prepared paper, 15 x 11 inches
Cyanocitta cristata (Blue Jay), 2014, silverpoint on prepared paper, 8 x 9 inches (sheet size). Private Collection.
© 2023 Tom Mazzullo