Alter Ego

I started this assignment by finding a piece of black paper which had two square-shaped cutouts at two opposite corners. I found it to be an interesting modification to a normal square shape, and decided to use the cutouts as an element in the piece. That's when I started looking for examples of other art that used the shape of the paper in a clever way.














I really liked the one on the left with the stairs, so I decided to incorporate that idea with a ledge in my final drawing. The next thing I did was research what materials to use on black paper. I really have not worked with it often, so I needed an idea of what the different materials would look like. I was choosing between gouache, colored pencil and pastel.

Based on this research I decided to use a white colored pencil; I really like the dramatic contrast and the delicate haze it produces. I also decided to incorporate a little bit of pastel because I like how the color looks on black paper. I also decided gouache was going to be too harsh and not detailed enough. For more research, I watched a short video on YouTube of an artist drawing in white pencil on black paper. I have found that watching videos of other artists not only teaches me new techniques, but also makes me more motivated to actually get started on making a piece. Drawing on black paper
My last research attempt was made to find a pose- during all of this I had come up with the idea of having my alter ego fall off a ledge with strings to hold her up, but I needed to see some actual "falling" poses to make up my mind. These reference photos are the result of that search.

 I decided to use as a loose reference the picture of the dancer at the bottom left. This picture is actually from a video I happened to watch the night before this project was assigned. I love the position of her body and it fit the mental image I had come up with. Here is the link to the video of their photoshoot (the moment I am referencing occurs at 4:03): Photo challenge

The theme of my alter ego project is depression, an issue that I have struggled with for a while but don't like to talk about too much. Something I have found is that in every psychology class and in every article with something like "Tips for Handling Depression" in the title (here's an example), one of the most important things to do is to maintain social connections. I have found this to be very true in my own life- my parents and my close friends know how to pick me up when I am down, and their love and friendship is sometimes the only thing that keeps me going. In my drawing, the strings attached to my body are the connections to loved ones that keep me from falling and anchor me to the edges of the paper.
The rest of the body I drew to vaguely resemble my own, but too obviously. I wanted the drawing to be ambiguous enough that people could project their own alter ego onto it and create an emotional connection with the art work. I believe my drawing is successful in that aspect.