Female image. Illustration to Dante "Vita Nova" 1965

Hryhorii Havrylenko made this pen illustration to Dante’s *Vita Nova*, and it’s the kind of drawing that makes you want to grab a pen and paper yourself. The way the artist uses simple hatched lines to build up tone and form—it’s like watching a thought take shape. Look closely, and you’ll see how the ink is almost woven together, especially in the background, which is almost like a textile. Then, by contrast, the face is smooth and calm, set against this sea of busy lines. The artist's marks are not concealed, quite the opposite! Each line feels considered, but also direct, immediate. There's a vulnerability in that. Like a diary entry, it offers us a peek into the artist’s thinking. The mouth is described by two short strokes, like an unfinished thought, and that negative space really makes you wonder what she's thinking. You see this kind of raw honesty in the work of outsider artists like Bill Traylor. It’s not about perfection, but about laying bare the process of seeing and feeling.