The Artful Readers Club for January
Artist's Journal Workshop: Creating Your Life in Words and Pictures by Cathy Johnson Sat in front of a local church on a sunny Saturday, then picked some flowers to examine. I only had a pencil so I added the watercolor later. Armed with few supplies, I went to one of my favorite spots and doodled. Lines added in Photoshop before posting...timid me. Please note: I recommend this book for any artist at any stage...my reference to 12-13 year olds in this review, is remarked due to the value of journaling. It's actually a very sophisticated book on many levels. In a brief shuffle through the pages of Artist's Journal Workshop , I found myself conflicted. The book contains numerous examples of a style of art making that toggles between the hugely personal and a publishable 'look'. So, with that...the book set up on my shelf for nearly a year. Now, after an honest read, I still feel a bit conflicted...but in a way that offers some inspir...
This is a truly fascinating image. It plays on so many different levels at once and is such a complicated piece of work.
ReplyDeleteVery violent and very sexual, as it seems as though he is to throttle or silence her, or snap her neck… She floats strangely, as though she is flying (it is ambiguous what is happening – maybe she is sailing off into the skies with him there clasping to her – the pink may signify the rosy fingers of dawn – or maybe, here, the kind of subversion of innocence (pink is a ‘girly’ colour, subverting the idea of seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses, etc…))
It actually reminds me of the opening of Jed Rubenfeld’s ‘Interpretation of Murder’, for various reasons. The bondage strangulation scene at the window in hotel…
The lady is like a magician’s assistant, a butterfly with wings, (Daphne transforming into the tree?) Her eyelessness, her direct stare achieves a sinister effect – dragons twist in her hair (Medusa…)
It is also very interesting how you have shaped her right breast, to go with the angular and angry style of the piece (also the shared imagery between the man’s necklace/sleeve and her pubis).
I also like the Fin de Siecle vibe and the general air of depravation – very Aubrey Beardsley.