001
One of two principal sketches for the piece strike-out from the body of work the last five years
Produced within Fall 2021 | Colored pencil and graphite on smooth Bristol paper | Roughly 5 1/2 inches x 6 inches
Chiefest among the differences between this first sketch for the piece strike-out and the final artwork is the alternative form to the central figure’s head. I utilized a more turned, almost three-quarters view, which affects the focal points of the figure and the viewer’s eye. Several lines of text underwent refinement through the development process, but placement of text was more significant in this case. I was seeking to discover how the layers strike-out bears in the application of various hues would afford a hierarchy of readability, thus impacting where certain words would be placed in relation to others. Above the left figure’s head, ‘“now, yuna, send him!”’ became far more subdued in the final piece, appearing smaller and within the grey sweep as to slightly conceal it. More plainly, ‘breaking for orbit’ in the upper right hand corner of the sketch would be exchanged for ‘heading for orbit’ in the final piece, and likewise ‘get out! now!’ would shrink to ‘get out!’. Overall, this sketch reveals that the composition of strike-out had been known with a fair degree of certainty upon the piece’s conception since its structure does not vary too wildly from the actual artwork. A curiosity belongs to the left and right heads that appear—these are placeholders because I had not yet taken references photos with the model whose likeness would be utilized in the final piece. This sketch predates that photoshoot by roughly three to four months.
The backside lists the hues I was utilizing for this piece with a reminder to myself about the specific layering order that was necessary to achieve the desired effect. Returning to this sketch reminded me that while developing it, I would take photos after each layer of color was applied in order to see how the progression developed. Different from strike-out is how this sketch’s central figure includes far more grey tones. This is an example of how this sketch helped me understand the limits of warm grey I could incorporate into the crimson red before the red would lose its glow, which was an effect I sought to retain for the final piece.