Pen + Paper – Zoe Hartman Art

Benthos (Goblin Shark)

2025

Pencil, Alcohol marker

Length: 17” Width: 11”

This redrawing of a 2021 piece is of a goblin shark in the deep sea reaching for something unattainable. In doing so, it is also coming apart, which should be a sign that it needs to find new hobbies.

“I Wish I Could Wear Hats”

2025

Colored pencil, Alcohol marker

Length: 8” Width: 5”

This drawing was inspired by the song “I wish I could wear hats” by Brian David Gilbert and the works of Maria Kalman. This drawing is just comical though, with no hidden meaning.

“The Fish”

2025

Colored pencil, Alcohol marker

Length: 11” Width: 8.5”

This drawing was inspired by Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “The Fish”. The artist felt the need to illustrate it, because the poem fit the theme of mutilated fish in their portfolio.

Victorian Mushroom Person

2024

Pencil

Length: 11.5” Width: 8”

This drawing used reference from an actual photo from the Victorian Era. With that, and a dash of whimsy, it builds the mycological world that exists in the artist’s mind.

Carapaced Avian

2024

Colored pencil, Alcohol marker

Length: 10” Width: 9”

This drawing was an experiment with color, and using multiple layers of mediums such as alcohol markers and colored pencils. The drawing itself is of an alien species (a bird with insect characteristics) that lives on a humid planet, with every inch of land covered with trees.

Astrophillic

2024

Colored pencil, Alcohol marker

Length: 8.5” Width: 6”

This is more commonly referred to as “The David Bowie” drawing, which is now more accurate than the original title. It was an experimentation with bright colors, and the use of multiple mediums to convey different textures.

Bluff

2022

Ink

Length: 11” Width: 10”

One controversy the artist is most fascinated by is the idea that birds are cameras sent by the government for some avian espionage. With the prompt “Bluff” the artist illustrated (and exaggerated) this idea, to bring this creature born of paranoia to life.