SALVATION

Zoey Tiefenthaler "SALVATION"

5.5 x 8.5”, Microns, White Gel Pen, Alcohol Markers, 2023 

My inspiration for this piece came when I was doing some project planning and saw a sketch I thought was good in concept, but I wanted to make it into something different. I wanted the idea of it to be the same, just executed better.

The project started with me looking up all kinds of references for the posing of the figure and all of the hands.  I began by posing the head and identifying where I wanted my light source to be.  Once that was done, I began figuring out where I wanted to draw some of the hands.  I had them all vary in size to not make them look too similar, and the references helped to make them look a little more organic and less stiff.  Once all of the hands were drawn in, I proceeded to begin the shading process.  I went around all parts of the drawing and shaded accordingly.  The last part of the project process involved me drawing the black “sun rays” at the top of the drawing.  Using a ruler and Microns, I drew straight lines and filled in the rays with a Sharpie to create the rays.  To finish things off, I wrote out the word “SALVATION” along the top, using a Micron Pen and white gel pen to write the letters.

This artwork is supposed to relate to the idea of religion and how much of humanity has, over our world’s history, grown to the point where the expectation of receiving some sort of judgment and deciding our final fate based on all of our life actions has become the belief of billions.  Many people, especially those who are of a particular religion, believe that something lies beyond their mortal lives, and thus, all that they’ve done will come down to one moment after death.  One unnamed figure attempts to reach the explicitly-named “salvation”, but is brought down by the hands.  These hands could represent a couple of things; perhaps it is the sins and wrongdoings of the accused, or it could be other people trying to reach that same point in their afterlife.  The sun-like rays shine upon the figure and hands, almost taunting them for how close they are to a potential heaven or nirvana.  Still, the nature of humanity keeps them from getting to this point.

Though it was the most enjoyable thing to draw, the hardest part of this project was the hands.  I’m not the most experienced in drawing them, so to jump over this hurdle, I used many different references to better execute the look of them.  Had I chosen to start over, I might’ve changed the posing of some of the hands and have some of them look a little more realistic.

This project is a mix of Realism and Surrealism.  I believe both the execution of the figure and the hands pertain most to my personal style.  What I’m most proud of are the aforementioned hands.  For not having drawn them a whole lot because of how difficult they can be, I had fun looking at references and placing them where I wanted to.  I think they are the best part of the piece, not just because of their look, but what they represent.