During 2018 and 2019 I focused on more pen and ink sketches primarily, where I was concentrating on developing my Heroes Series. After watching Hidden Figures, I became fascinated with the women who broke racial and gender glass ceilings in becoming the calculators crucial to the success of the earliest space initiatives in the US. These portraits depict Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Katherine G. Johnson. I also started to look into the women who were involved in emancipation and the civil rights movement, which led me to doing portraits of Ida B. Wells, Maya Angelou, and Claudette Colvin. Another Heroes Series portrait I made during this time was of Michael Faraday, who developed the first electric motor. These are shown on my Pen and Ink and Drawing page, as well as below.
2019 was also a big year for me because I was able to move to a larger apartment and finally have a dedicated studio. This has been instrumental in allowing me the space to have all my materials in one place and to streamline my workflow. Soon after moving, I got my first pet: a spunky little standard poodle named Oakley. Her companionship has been sweet and constant, and thankfully she doesn’t mind snoozing while I work as long as there’s a good long walk or jog before or after!
Portrait of Mary Jackson | Zoe Nathan 2018
Portrait of Katherine G. Johnson | Zoe Nathan 2018
