Rainy Day Painter 

Iwo Zaniewski’s ‘Rainy Day Painter’ is executed in colored pencil with meticulous and almost obsessive attention to detail. This medium, often considered a children’s tool, is here employed with the serious attention normally reserved for oil paint. Look closely and you’ll see the labor involved. Zaniewski has patiently built up an image of surprising complexity, depicting an artist painting a woman who is herself reclining and reading, with a landscape visible through the window. The repeated application of delicate lines gives the painting a distinctive texture, a kind of all-over density reminiscent of textiles. There’s a surreal effect to the work, as every object and surface is given equal attention, flattening the hierarchy between foreground and background. The effect is something of an optical illusion. We’re drawn into the represented scene, but also constantly reminded of the painstaking work that has gone into its making. By embracing a medium often deemed low-status, Zaniewski invites us to reconsider our assumptions about skill, labor, and artistic value.