Sunday, January 14, 2024

Original Art Sundays no. 374: Sharp Invitations: Esther's Hands, p. 14

Back with the next page of my graphic memoir.

Trans stuff comes and goes in this chapter. Mother had accepted me as her daughter, even if I didn't always behave as she might have liked. But what about her?


 This was a tricky page from a narrative standpoint. Static storyline, just one or two old ladies sitting around in a cluttered house. I broke out some new Copic markers that I rather like, and used some Faber Castell gray markers on some of the values, along with the pencils.

Drawing clutter is tricky. How does one render chaos in a believable way? I worked from memory and the scant photo reference I had on hand. The solution is to include some plausible objects that are out of context. The image in Panel 5 is a reasonably accurate approximation of the house. In a page or two, I'll be drawing part of the kitchen. That will be a challenge!

The idea of Mother fading away as her life became more - let's say sequestered by choice and design - was the impetus for panels two, four and six. It's very close to my original vision for this page. I have to remind myself of my aphorism for my students. You never get 100% of your vision into the work, but sometimes you close in on it.

Tools used on this page:

  • Papers: tracing paper, various sketchbooks, Canson Bristol board
  • Pencils: Lyra 2B graphite stick, 4B lead and holder, 2B Ticonderoga classic, tech pencil and 4B lead
  • Erasers: kneadable, vinyl eraser, Click eraser
  • Hand Tools: 6" and 14" straightedge, triangle, T-square, French curves
  • Inking tools: Dr.Martin's Black Magic ink, nib and holder, Princeton Deerfoot 1/4" mini detailer brush (can't get enough of this brush!), Kingart 8 Gold Synthetic
  • Markers: Copic 0.25, 0.3, 0.8, 1.0, Faber Castell gray brush, Copic Brush and Micron small brush
  • And of course, Photoshop
Next: Mother puts up with me. Not always an easy feat!
 

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