Grief
A digital collage built from failed charcoal sketches, crumpled painted papers, and original photography. A picture with a heavy, gloomy mood that carries a touch of humor if you know the story behind it.
The image features Aunt Julika, who often posed as a model for us at the Refi (Reformed High School) and whom we drew in charcoal many times.
The piece started with a failed charcoal study I did of her, along with another ruined charcoal still life. I scanned both, then went wild in the workshop—splattering paint on paper, crumpling it up, and scanning those textures too. After that, I went out to take some photos, and brought all these materials together into a digital collage.
The result is titled Grief. Even though the overall mood of the artwork is heavy and oppressive, knowing the background—that it was born from failed drawings and raw workshop experiments—gives it a subtle layer of humor.