Vik Hart
Emerging
Visual Arts: Works on Paper
Wilmington
"“I create fantastical illustrations to encourage imagination within viewers. These works exist in a fictional place that I’ve named Firn.”"
Work Samples
About the Artist
Written by Gail Obenreder
Vik Hart has enjoyed drawing all his life – “since before I could walk.” He was sure from a young age that he wanted to be an artist, “but in what form I did not know.” In middle and high school, he often had his sketchbooks taken away “for not paying attention,” but that didn’t deter him. Midway through earning his college degree in commercial graphics and design, Hart realized his “love for painting and illustration and pivoted from there.”
Though he began by painting large-scale canvases, Hart eventually realized that “I could get the effect I wanted from working with wet media on paper,” his preferred method. When making one of his “fantastical illustrations,” the artist places each work within the landscape of the imaginary land of Firn, a whimsical region he has created that can be seen on the landing page of his website. Hart works to place each of his fanciful illustrations in his fictional landscape, thinking about “how the plants grow and how the creatures live” so that his creations can exist “in a magical manner while still having internal logic.”
Viewers are able to interact with Hart’s works on multiple levels, either by simply viewing them or by accessing the additional ways he presents them. He creates zines (small booklets) with lore about Firn, for example, or supplementary tabletop gaming material that “invites others to further engage.” These smaller works are affordable ways to make his illustrations both more accessible and affordable than traditional artistic creations might be.
Hart rarely makes preliminary sketches, preferring the spontaneity he can create with “quick brush strokes and pools of watercolor to give the pieces energy.” And to ensure the integrity of his created world, Hart tries to avoid any direct reference to existing media or locales, adding “a sense of nostalgia” that allows the viewer’s imagination to take hold.
The artist’s “single biggest influence” is the Japanese illustrator Yoshitaka Amano, but he also cites artists like Frank Miller and Bruce Blitz, and he draws additional inspiration from video game designers and tabletop role-playing games. Most recently, he’s been studying the pen-and-ink work that was used in early editions of Dungeons and Dragons.
One of Hart’s challenges is “keeping focused,” determining which ideas to expand on. And since he also sells his work at art fairs and crafts shows, balancing the creation of those commercial pieces with his more conceptual works “can be tricky.” But Hart feels most gratified as an artist when his art connects intimately with viewers – “someone’s eyes lighting up while looking at my work” or people telling him that his illustrations “remind them of a story, game, or cartoon from their childhood that I’d never engaged with before.”
The Division’s Fellowship will “give me space to breathe and experiment.” He plans to invest his award in projects or ideas that have, until now, been cost-prohibitive, including larger-scale publishing ventures. Hart grew up in South Carolina and lived there until his late twenties. Though he’s only lived in Delaware for five years, he’s “felt a truly significant growth in my career as an artist” since moving here. As well as this award, Hart was also the recipient of a recent Division Opportunity Grant, “eternally grateful for the opportunities and encouragement I’ve received from this state since making it my home.”