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Illustration Friday

Where to my friend VII

Medium: Pencil/Coloured Pencil
Size: 640 mm x 940 mm

Larger version here >>> wtmffinalv2.jpg

This week’s IF topic is Choose, this drawing probably has has marginal relevance to that, although the Devo lyrics from Freedom Of Choice keep echoing in my head:

In ancient Rome there was a poem
About a dog who found two bones
He picked at one
He licked the other
He went in circles
He dropped dead

Freedom of choice
Is what you got
Freedom of choice!

I had plenty of choices to make while completing this. What to put in, what to leave out, and making sure I didn’t lick the poisoned bone!

It is sometimes very fulfilling and satisfying to see a drawing turn from concept into reality.  That’s how I feel about Where To My Friend #3, relatively satisfied and content with the end result.  Yep, the good bits outweigh the one glaring stuff-up (hmmm ... if possible I might still try and rectify it. UPDATE: a partial rectification has occurred it is now not a glaring boo boo, just a boo boo).  There’s also a sense of relief that I didn’t really fuck anything up - this thing is a largish drawing so the chance of that happening was very real.  Indeed the size of the drawing made it difficult for my poor little digital camera to get everything in focus - hence the so so reproduction quality and uneven lighting.

I know the drawing itself doesn’t make much sense in isolation but bear in mind that it’s drawing #3 of a triptych (a painting that has three side-by-side panels).  I also wanted each drawing to potentially stand alone effort so if ever they got split each one could be hung separately and still tell a mini story.  When it all comes together I hope it’ll be an (lousy?) attempt to stylistically do a Kozyndan meets James Jean thing.  The red highlights will also be common to all drawings.  On reflection the compositional aspects of this drawing remind me of Edvard Munch’s Scream.  The bad news in all of this is that Where To My Friend #1 and #2 are more complex with respect to the building architecture.

The whole series was meant to be a commission for a boardroom - they said they wanted a window or window scene as their boardroom has no windows.  I guess the feeling of being able to see out of a window is what they wanted.  I need to follow up to see if the commission is still a goer, it was a passing hallway discussion after all.  I suspect this is way beyond the initial brief and way too surreal for a conservative setting.  Ah well, not to worry if the commission doesn’t eventuate as the idea for it at least broke a creative drought.