Saturday, November 15, 2014

Just call me old Grandma Changes, Pencil drawing



Krytios Soto
Just call me Old Grandma Changes
Pencil on paper
8 x 10 inches
October 2013

I needed a break from my cartoon-styled illustrations. I've been working on a children's storybook for over a year and a half now (a totally independent project, so there's no rush) for which I've made about 40 sketches that have been further developed into about 24 full color illustrations. I may not use all 40 but either way, it's the biggest project I've ever done. So I really, really needed a break not just from the book itself, but from the large-headed simple cartoon figures. Obviously something like "Old Grandma Changes still retains some of that. It's made by the same person and my style always stays within the realm of illustration. I'm quite aware of that. But she still felt like a departure when I made her. 

I drew her back in October of 2013. The first thing that comes to mind when I try to look at her from an outsider's perspective, is that she reminds me of Bjork and her Biophilia project. I won't deny that Bjork is probably my favorite musician. I've even drawn Bjork before. But masked figures with gigantic hair and macrocosmic elements have been a recurring motif of mine since 2004, seven years before Biophilia. There is a belief among some that the Jungian collective unconscious can be seen in the works of creative people, famous or unknown. It happens all the time.