In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, I spent much of time in quarantine experimenting with new illustration techniques and media. It is in those experiments that I found my love for working with dip pens, aiming to incorporate this new skill into my illustration work. Spheres of Knowledge is the first complete dip pen piece I have made.

While staying at home, I had found myself reconnecting with old passions of mine from my childhood. Of these, astronomy stuck out and impassioned me the most, and so I dove in, learning and relearning all I could find on the known universe and humankind’s interpretation of it throughout recorded human history.

Much of the inspiration for this piece comes from the intricate engravings of Gustave Doré, a French artist known for pushing the boundaries of realism in line drawing and engraving. Additionally, I looked at much of the old ink illustrations of astronomers, philosophers, and theologists, each aiming to explain the known universe, bound by religious doctrine and limited knowledge

For more of my work, Check out my website at austinwinsteadillustration.com