Escape

    For this piece i focused on the way people use books to escape into another story. This was inspired by a photo i took of a lady reading on the bus. This photo interested me as we were both going on the same bus journey yet she was somewhere completely different through her book. I also focused on layers and use of a certain colour pallette using: brown, white, black and green. These colours are very basic when alone but are also strong in comparison to one another.
   I began with sticking ripped pieces of newspaper texts to the page, and using charcoal, covered them by smudging the charcoal with a cotton ball. I did add more charcoal after to make the creases more dense to highlight how they are in pieces. Next i glued the brown piece of paper on top; lightly stroking the charcoal over it to pick up the ridges in the lined paper. The texture of this paper really interested me as it was subtle until the charcoal exposed it. The charcoal made it look worn and dirty, this showing how dirty the world is with how it really beats people down with high expectations. Also instead of approaching and dealing with huge issues like homelessness and mental health, it is covered up and shunned, blaming the victim instead of helping them. Much like the words on the ripped pieces of newspaper are unreadable.
   With the final layer of white newspaper, with tattered edges, i glued it into the centre. Then glued down the corners of the brown paper to reveal the edges, showing the truth that was hidden deep down. Another way to look at this is how people discover themselves when reading. It can be a comfort, a journey of discovery as they connect to a character. I added some string to act as rope around the edges showing how she is escaping from her boundaries. Using fineliner and charcoal i drew the girl from the picture reading and with a green ink pen i drew the book and small figures running. I like this illustration but feel it needs a lot of improvement in quality of drawing. Maybe crosshatching style of the fineliner drawing but i feel it looks more cartoon than realistic unfortunately. Also the figure behind the folded piece of paper is hard to see when it is key to be the storyteller inviting the reader on their journey. I especially like the composition of this piece and layering using the colours as the green is subtle due to being small but catches the attention of the viewer making them look to the centre then to the edges. Therefore reflect on the world they live in as they can not see under the folded areas to where she has escaped, making them feel left behind and missing out.