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©2006-2009 *mollygrue
:iconmollygrue:

Artist's Comments

Charcoal on Paper
41" by 30"

This will be the last image of the civis and the savages. At least, for the forseeable future. This drawing is serving as a transition point between the old and new work I'm developing in which the large and small bodies resemble the same nonspecific (bald) figure. I suppose I'll discuss that more with the drawings I upload over the next few days.

With regards to this drawing, I was thinking along the lines of death and the passivity towards or struggle against it. I think it's becoming evident in this piece that I'm not so focused on the figures at war (though that is still an issue), but in dealing with them as a kind of..."disease" for lack of a better word.

Comments


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:iconlemoire:
just BEAUTIFUL, dear--sort of imbues the mind with inspiration you know. Your work is breathtaking. it carries a sort of dreamlike storytelling state to it.
:iconboneskull:
i like your stuff.
:iconpixieface:
Bizarre, but very compelling - I was drawn to stare at the larger figures and try and make some sense of them, and they way they recede into the background and the darkness like a landscape is intriguing. I'm also very fond of the texture you've managed to include by merit of the charcoal itself, it's a nice touch, and adds some three dimensional feeling to it.

Mind you, I think the three dimensional aspect of the piece is its major weakness - some of the smaller figures, and the figures on the left there, suffer from being a bit cartoon-ised, a bit oversimplified. My advice would be (if you intend to make them beautifully semi-realistic and obvious very solid, three-d, such at the pair on the front left) is perhaps to learn to express your people in fewer lines, and those lines not necessarily being the outline of the person (in a cartoony way) but the darks and shadows that the person throws, in a more realistic sense. Does that make sense?

Basically, I think what I'm saying is - the smaller people would benefit from more intuitive mark marking which concentrates on form and shadow rather than outline and more two-dimensional approach - it would make the piece hang together more as a whole, without the distraction of the little cardboard cutout people in the background.

Lovely piece though, as a whole - and a fantastic, eeirie concept. I look forward to seeing where you go with this!

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Alaka-bee-weeoop! Old school.
:iconzorrino:
Mmh... I can't see much of the description in this picture. It's hard to me to find in it the things you talk about.

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:bulletblue: Always open for commissions! :bulletblue:
:icondisney-bubbles:
very cool, as your other work ^^ I really like how some figures seem in agony and others are amused and enjoying themselves or passive... great contrast and amazing composition :)
:iconrinoatilmitt:
i really like the overall composition in this :) great job on teh black and white lighting

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Personal Website
:iconloish:
incredible atmosphere, lighting and shadows. i like the sense of space you create, really strange and sort of open like a landscape but also closed and claustrophobic like in a dream. and nice job with charcoal. i love working with charcoal even though the dryness makes me feel icky haha.
:iconmollygrue:
Hopefully, those issues will become more clear as I put more work up (it is on the way, I promise!!). Thanks for your honesty ^_^.
:iconmollygrue:
Actually, to be honest, this is a drawing that I gave up on because it just wasn't doing what I needed it to do in terms of space and, yes, the issues with outlines are something that I'm working on downplaying a bit as I proceed with charcoal. I think that as far as working with line, you either need to go all out and make it cartoony, or eliminate it completely. Not that it isn't possible to walk the line between the two, but I'm just not to that point yet, and I'm really not sure how such a dialogue would work for my pieces.

That said, I think that I'm still mostly happy with the direction that this piece opened up, and that's why I posted it. Hopefully, it will make more sense when I follow up with my more recent drawings and paintings.

Thanks so so much for your thoughtful comment ^_^.

Details

October 27, 2006
423 KB
544×750

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Camera Data

Vivitar
Vivicam3815
1/7 second
F/3.5
5 mm
200
Feb 19, 2004, 7:23:24 AM

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