Tortoise by William Dyas Garnett
- Title: Tortoise
- Artist: William Dyas Garnett
- Medium: Ink and gouache
- Size: 14"h x 18"w
- Added to collection: 2014
- Donor: Purchased by Portland Community College, Rock Creek Campus
- Campus: Rock Creek
- Location: B2/1 N Stairwell gallery
Drawing was at the core of all of William Garnett's work. This lively ink drawing of a tortoise made on crumpled brown wrapping paper with ink applied very quickly and gesturally with a bamboo pen over grey washes of gouache (opaque watercolor) has the snap of speed but ironically depicts a very slow moving creature. The expression on the face of the tortoise is comically ferocious, almost outraged at its inability to move faster, and may be considered a self-portrait, as it does resemble the animated intensity Garnett would adopt sometimes when he was drawing at full speed. Abstraction was also at the core of his work and the thick undulating snake-like form that moves through the tortoise's body as an extension of his neck is a wonderful invention to create the sense of slow movement. Garnett's drawing was heavily influenced by the work of California artists Howard Warshaw (who experimented with X-Ray effects in his drawings), and Rico Lebrun (whose line quality this drawing resembles).