Transformation Drawing

Transformation 1

First Drawing, Transformation #1

Transformation 2

All This Ringing, pastels, 36in x 30in

During the creation of this image, I was getting over a virus that impaired my hearing and resulted in temporary tinnitus. The ringing in my ears was the only thing that I was able to focus on, so while drawing this image, I tried to portray the annoying buzzing sounds and overwhelming feeling of the tinnitus. I struggled to cover the pitch black of the original image. I found myself constantly rubbing at layers of charcoal and building up layers of color to mask it.

Transformation 3

In Red, pastels, 36 in x 30 in

I started this drawing by rubbing away the previous colors as much as I could with wet paper towels, resulting in a muddy grey and giving the paper a harder texture when it dried. I'm drawn to figures so I used sponges and pan pastels to build up shapes to create a face while I lay on the floor drawing, resulting in odd proportions. I used a red pastel to create the illusion of a sheer red fabric wrapping around the woman.

Transformation 4

Womb, pastels, 30in x 26in

I was thinking about water during this drawing. When I was thinking about water, I thought about how being submerged is sort of like being in the womb, surrounded by amniotic fluid. I covered the previous colors in grey and shades of blue to make the image feel cold. The drawing is meant to make the viewer feel both a sense of peace and sorrow, like being cradled by water yet drowning.

Transformation 5

Watching, gouache and acrylic paint, 28in x 24in

During the creation of this piece I was thinking about horror movie posters from the 1970s, specifically House (1977) and Suspiria (1977). The two posters for those films are illustrative and consist mainly of orange, red, black, and white. I cut the paper into a headstone shape and glue the cut off pieces onto the  front of the paper. Since this was the final transformation I wanted to use more permanent materials so I opted for paints. I coated the paper in black, then added the eyes. Finally I used a sponge with very little white paint on it and dragged it across the paper, resulting in an industrial texture across the drawing.