Mike Gordon

Artist Statement

Working with graphite and charcoal, my drawing practice is a relentless pursuit of capturing people and things with a hyper-realistic quality on paper; to provide the viewer with that slight moment of doubt as to whether or not what they are seeing is a photograph or a drawing. I love these two mediums for their versatility in rendering subtle nuances of light, shadow, and texture. I aim to capture every microscopic detail of a subject with high fidelity quality that ultimately brings the form and figure to life. Hyperrealism is unique in that it allows me to capture the intricacies of a subject that a camera might miss. I hope my drawings illicit a sense of wonder in the viewer that allows them to, just for a moment, step completely outside of themself and to appreciate what some time, consistency, and a dash of patience can yield in any endeavor. I hope that my drawings nudge people to reconsider their perceptions of the world around them, prompting them to marvel at the beauty and complexity of things often overlooked from the different patterns of skin texture to the way a water droplet sits on a rose petal.

My process involves a ton of thought before I even put a pencil to paper. What's the mood I'm going for? How much detail am I trying to capture? Should I use charcoal more than graphite for this piece? These are just a few of the the questions I ask myself. I immerse myself in observing my reference, studying every intricacy of my subject to capture its essence and truly bring it to life with some spirit on paper. Once I start the drawing, I focus on accurate base tones and values slowly building up one layer at a time. I pay close attention to contrast. It's such a crucial part of hyperrealism. Capturing accurate tones from the rich dark shadows to the subtle bright highlights can make a drawing pop off the paper. The detail work is the icing on the cake and much of what I do for details is addition by subtraction with a variety of different erasing tools.

I've loved working with graphite and charcoal since I was a kid. They're quite forgiving and allow for such depth and dimensionality in my drawings. A combination of different makeup sponges and brushes allow me to produce a smoothness that makes it challenging to even see pencil strokes. While I try to be intentional with my mark making, much of what I do is about learning and problem solving for texture on the fly.

Growing up, I loved the classic Impressionists and artists like Thomas Eakins and Andrew Wyeth. I find the work of CJ Hendry, Jono Dry and Emanuele Dascanio to be immensely inspiring. The scale, level of realism, and overall dedication to their craft is something I strive to emulate.

Biography

Based in Philly and entirely self-taught, Mike Gordon’s entry into the art world has been a rather unexpected surprise. Working in cybersecurity by day, he still devotes a substantial amount of time to his first love as a kid, drawing. Mike was obsessed with drawing as a child. He would spend hours immersed with a pencil and paper drawing sports icons, stadiums, and cartoons often ripping up the paper and starting over again if he wasn’t satisfied with his work. He's a great example of what 10,000 hours can do for a craft since when he began drawing, his doodles were...not good! He persisted out of a love for drawing with no formal art training or education and slowly but surely his drawings became more life-life as he started taking more of an interest in drawing people and still-life, and exploring different styles from stippling to crosshatching. Mike won several elementary school competitions but once he entered high school, a competitive swimming career and the demands of education led to an innate gift being put on the shelf. Over a decade went by before he decided to pick up the pencil again.

In the Spring of 2022, Mike decided to get back into art and within 12 months he sold several works of art, exhibited with The Holy Art Gallery's Art on Loop in Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, London and New York and was featured in Artists Talk Magazine. Additionally, he has been in group exhibits with the Laguna Art Gallery, Touchstone Gallery and TAG Gallery in LA where he won the Award of Excellence in Drawing. Mike was thrilled to be part of the Mrs Toolip International Art Exhibit in Barcelona in November 2023 where he won 2nd place for his drawing 'Shame' and is excited to be a finalist for the Arte Laguna Prize in Venice, Italy in November 2024. He’s currently getting a body of work together for his first solo exhibition with the Cris Contini Contemporary Gallery in London in 2025 as well and will have two drawings on exhibit with the Artio Gallery in Tribeca, NYC in July 2024.

Renaissance Mood_2024_charcoal and graphite_22 x 30 inches
Submerged_2023_graphite_22 x 30 inches
Rose_2022_graphite and charcoal_14 x17 inches
The Best of You_2023_charcoal and graphite_22 x 30 inches
Shame_2023_graphite_14 x 17 inches