artemisia gentileschi | “judith beheading holofernes”

pg 33 | “baroque’s baddie”

The Art Cabinet for the art curious

october 2021
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23
Questions
with

NICK NGUYEN
(aka wasabi darling)
1. TELL US ABOUT YOUR ART STYLE.

If I had to call my art style something, I would

name it “cute minimalism”. I have always
enjoyed doing a quick drawing with simple
designs because I get too lazy to finish
anything. It’s amazing how something can be
interpreted as “cute” with just some
minimal details.

2. WHEN DID YOU START DRAWING IN LIFE?

I started when I was young. I remember

designing my elementary school class
t-shirts and always drawing during class. As I
grew older, it just became doodles on
scrap pieces of paper because I was bored.
During college, I would often have to
keep a sketchbook for my architecture degree,
doodles became sketches of buildings.
Although I didn’t enjoy sketching architecture
much; it takes too much time and buildings
aren’t cute. It wasn’t until last April that I revisit-
ed my art and took it more seriously.

3. WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO DRAW YOUR ART?

Seeing anything that is adorable will inspire me

to start drawing something. I’m going to be
cheesy and add that my boyfriend is one of my
inspirations. He has supported me through
this and was the one that pushed me to make
something of my art.

4. WHAT INSPIRATIONS DO YOU DRAW

FROM?

Video games and anime have always been the

building blocks of my existence. So, I have
a lot of different brands and characters to draw
inspiration from. Two of my favorite franchises
growing up were Pokémon and Sanrio. I
appreciated the simplicity and freedom both
brands have with their ideas. A lot of my
art today fuses characters and styles from
both brands.
5. POKÉMON SEEMS TO BE A BIG
INSPIRATION FOR YOU, SO I HAVE TO ASK,
WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE POKÉMON?

This is a loaded question; I never have a favorite

for too long! But currently, I would say my
favorite is Morpeko. It is from the newest gener-
ation and is basically a hamster that gets
hangry. It’s those small, specific yet hilarious
details that make a Pokémon my favorite.

6. AS AN AVID PSYDUCK FAN MYSELF, HOW

WOULD YOU RATE PSYDUCK’S COOLNESS
FROM 1-10?

10! Psyduck is the original troll of the franchise

and I appreciate that.

7. ONE MEAL FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE…

GO!

Charcuterie, hands down.

8. TELL US ABOUT YOUR ORIGINAL

CHARACTER CARLITO FWAN.

My sweet baby. I have a bit of a sweet tooth,

and one of my favorite desserts is flan. I
wanted to make a character based off a dessert
and with the help of my boyfriend, Carlito
Fwan was born! Carlito has luscious syrupy hair
that is too heavy for him to support, so he’s
a bit clumsy at times. He wears a little hat that
has different fruits on it depending on the
season. Like flan, Carlito likes to jiggle and have
a good time.

9. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST

CURRENTLY?

Takashi Murakami. I appreciate the chaotic

energy his art has.
10. WHERE DOES YOUR PEN NAME “WASABI
DARLING” COME FROM?

The first gamer-tag that I made with my little

brother was Killa Wasabi. It was like the l
ate 2000’s and it just sounded really cool. I also
loved wasabi as a kid, I would often eat
these little nuts that had a hint of wasabi as a
child. The green shade of wasabi is also
one of my favorite colors. The “darling” moniker
came from my first DnD character, Alice
Darling. This character was cute, sassy, and
chaotic, kind of like my art. I loved that
character so much during my DnD campaign,
and it became an avatar that I use a lot
now in video games. So, combining the two
names seemed fitting for me.

11. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PART

OF BECOMING AN ARTIST?

My favorite part so far has been the online art

community. I have interacted with a lot of
other artists and have even made some friends.
Everyone is super supportive, and I find
that amazing. Just strangers boosting each
other! I’ve also enjoyed working with
customers and getting to know people through
my shop/commissions.

12. IN CHILDHOOD, DID YOU ASPIRE TO BE

AN ARTIST?

Yes! I wanted to become an animator for Disney

when I was a kid. Unfortunately, I grew apart
from my art during my teenage years and didn’t
think that I was good enough to even make
it as an artist. I think the idea of an artist
back then was very different to what it is now.
There are so many different mediums and
tools that one can use now to turn their art into
a living.
13. ARE WE ABLE TO REQUEST
COMMISSIONS? IF SO, WHAT ARE YOUR
FAVORITES TO DO?

Yes my commissions are open! I have some

people that have me draw their Pokémon
of choice, but a lot of my commissions come
from drawings of their pets. I don’t post
them much on my socials, but I might one day!
My favorites are the pet commissions, I feel
like I get to capture the essence of their pet in
a drawing.
(my cat otis on a dhl box.. long story , but it is perfect.)

14. YOU PRODUCE YOUR OWN

MERCHANDISE AS WELL. WHAT IS THAT
PROCESS LIKE?

It can be a long and frustrating process when

things don’t go smoothly…I use a Cricut
sticker cutter machine that cuts out the art
prints, I have a love/hate relationship
with my Cricut machine. The end of the proc-
ess is my favorite part, I get full creative
control with my packaging, and I love being able
to have that be a form of my creativity
as well.

15. WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE

HOBBIES?

Well art and video games of course. I also l

ove listening to music, reading, kayaking,
hiking, and lounging. I honestly enjoy most
activities as long as the weather is nice it
isn’t too crowded.

16. FAVORITE BOOK?

I really love The Stormlight Archive by Brandon

Sanderson. Love a light read.
17. FAVORITE ANIME?

Asocial Asobase. I’ve watched it three times.

It’s a hilarious show about three chaotic
middle school girls.

18. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR FAVOR-

ITE PIECE YOU’VE CREATED AND WHY?

My favorite piece would have to be my latest

drawing of the Pokémon, Polteageist. It
was inspired from the new anime, Pokémon
Evolutions, where it is drinking from a cup.
I love the design of Polteageist and the pose it
had and was inspired to draw it in my own
style. I’ve also been exploring a bit more with
shading and colors, I think this piece shows
how far I’ve come from just last April when
I started.

19. WHAT IS THE WEIRDEST QUESTION

SOMEONE HAS ASKED YOU ABOUT YOUR
WORK? OR REQUEST?

I had to draw a character from a certain

franchise, and the character was a
female with large boobs. I had difficulty
trying to adapt this character in my
style because of her chest. The client didn’t
want the chest to be overly sexual but
cute and I was sort of at a lost. But after a
couple of rounds, we ended up with a
cute set of boobs.

20. ONE THING YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE

YOU DIE?

I would like to design and build my own house

one day.
21. SOMETHING YOU WANT PEOPLE TO
KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT WOULDN’T NOR-
MALLY ASK:

I’m going to be vulnerable here. The music

I love to listen to is Kpop. If someone
were to ask me “What music do you like to
listen to?”, I would respond with “Oh, any
type.” I will never say that I listen to Kpop unless
someone else brings it up first. Although
I suppose it’s mainstream now to like Kpop.

22. WHAT ARE THREE THINGS YOU CANNOT

LIVE WITHOUT?

My iPad for my art, my headphones to tune

out the nonsense, and my picnic blanket
because then I can sit anywhere I want.

23. ANY ADVICE TO ARTISTS OUT THERE?

I would say to never push yourself too hard to

create something. Always make sure that
you’re taking care of yourself andmaintaining the
relationships in your life. Also please be
patient with yourself, you will get where you
want to be soon.

To see more of wasabi darling’s

work, go follow him on Instagram
@wasabi.darling.

Request a commission, you won’t

be disappointed.

HUGE thanks to Nick for taking

the time to answer these
questions. What a treat!
Tanaka Tatsuya
@t anaka.tatsuya
miniature artist

He makes new works every

single day and posts them
on Instagram for the world to
see. He puts a playful spin
on mundane reality that just
makes sense. His work is
innovative, fun, and whimsical.
It is a joy every time I see
it on my feed!
AUCTIONS.

BIG BUYS.
BIG ART.
 dots-obsession, yayoi kusama, 2005
estimated to sell for:
180,000 - 250,000 USD

fillette au port, suzanne eisendieck, n.d.

estimated to sell for:
1,000 - 2,000 USD

skyscrapers, charles green shaw, 1939

estimated to sell for:
15,000 - 25,000 USD
white wine
by grayson wise
MORGAN
DELANCY

@mdelancy.photography
red wine
by grayson wise
BRANDON
NGUYEN

@bdonwin
baroque’s baddie:
artemisia gentileschi
If you couldn’t tell, I kind of love the Baroque. I think I have
talked about it several times in the few editions we
have The Art Cabinet thus far. However, I have good reason
to want to talk about it! The art was moody, incredible,
and very different from anything before. Plus, it wasn’t JUST
men who ruled this world of Baroque art. We have our-
selves THE Baroque Baddie… Artemisia Gentileschi. If I could
have a dinner with this woman, I would. She is an icon.
She dealt with the audacity of men to the max every day of
her life, and especially as a female artist… there was a
lot she had to do. Big yikes. Men suck. End of story.

I am kidding! Well, about the end of story thing; I’ll let you
make your own opinion on the rest. However, as much
as I would love to talk about tearing down the patriarchy, I
also want to actually talk about the incredible and mind-
blowing achievements of Artemisia Gentileschi. So, I’m going
to give you some background on herself, her work, and
a little bit of the ridiculousness of men she encountered.

To start, Artemisia was a woman artist born on July 8, 1593

and died in 1653. She was an Italian Baroque painter,
and she is considered one of the most successful artists of
the 17th-century. Yes, that’s right; not just considered a
great FEMALE artist, but an amazing ARTIST as a whole. That,
my friends, is cool. Her father did train her at the beginning
of her career as an artist, but it was soon very apparent she
was excelling and would surpass her father’s skill by a
long shot. Artemisia was a working professional artist by
the age of 15, and she worked in the same style as
Caravaggio (girl is so good that people even today mistake
her work for his, so yeah). Anyways, as impressive as
that fact alone is, we need to also keep in mind just how in-
credible she was to be recognized as a female artist in
the 17th-century. She even was the first woman to become
a member of the Accademia di Arte del Disegno in
Florence, and painted for clients all over the world. Literally
guys, she is my IDOL.
Essentially, Holofernes was a terrible guy terrorizing Judith’s
town (an Assyrian man that besieged her town), and
so she takes it into her own hands. She flatters Holofernes
and dines with him in his tent. When he was drunk
asleep, she took his sword and beheaded him. Therefore,
she saved her town. Hellooooo, a heroine to the max!

This is a huge deal to produce an image like this because of

its powerful and strong female subject, but it is even
more so extraordinary because a woman produced this image.
It is female virtue triumphing over the oppressive male
and male force. This is brave act from a beautiful, fearless,
and impressive woman. Kinda like Artemisia and
Judith have a strong female connection, right? What’s
even more so interesting is the fact this wasn’t the
only time Artemisia produced a painting of a scene very
similar to this! She did several. Of course, that’s a
baddie move to continually create phenomenal images of
a woman just taking down the patriarchy, but not
everyone saw it that way back in the day.

Artemisia faced an insane amount of backlash and downright

terribleness because of her incredible paintings. In short,
men just hated the fact she was good and would do anything
to try and stop a woman from her success. Artemisia
was even involved in a rape trial that was a horrible moment
in her life. She was ridiculed and seen as a sexual object
during the matter, and it was not only a physically and mentally
draining process because of the pure subject. It also ruined
her reputation (again, men love to see women fail) even though
she was a victim. It was not until centuries later that we
were able to reclaim Artemisia’s reputation and understand
the greatness of her work.

With that said, go do your own research on Artemisia. I have

given you a little tease on her coolness. She is the
Baroque Baddie. Now, go worship her work as you should
(kidding, but not really).

Sources:
Cohen, Elizabeth S. “The Trials of Artemisia Gentileschi: A Rape as History.” The Sixteenth Century Journal 31, no. 1 (2000):
47–75. https://doi.org/10.2307/2671289.

“Artemisia’s Heroines - Google Arts & Culture.” Google. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/qwVxZvjI9G4UNg?hl=en.

“Judith Beheading Holofernes: Artworks: Uffizi Galleries.” Artworks | Uffizi Galleries. https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/
judith-beheading-holofernes.
self-portrait as a lute player, artemisia gentileschi, 1616-18
10
of the creepiest
& spookiest artworks
(to get you in the spooky spirit)
 the nightmare, henry fuseli, 1781

skull of skeleton with burning cigarette,

van gogh, 1885-1886
the ambassadors, hans holbein, 1533
the face of war, salvador dali, 1940
 medusa, caravaggio, 1597

saturn devouring his son, goya, 1819-23

the flaying of sisamnes, gerard david, 1498
hell (the last judgment), fra angelico, 1425-1430
witches’ fight, goya, 1798

the flaying of marysas, titian, 1570-76

FOR
INQUIRIES
CONTACT
GRAYSON WISE:

GRAYSONWISE@OU.EDU
918.721.4681