Sustained Investigation #6

Sinking

15" x 6"

Digital with procreate

After one of the worst weeks of my life, due to changing up my meds, I decided to sketch with charcoal. I polished it with some gouache and water, showing the painting dissolve into the rough charcoal marks. After that, I scanned it, and I added the character and pill bottles/pills in the water. I wanted to show a character sinking with a boat right next to them but deciding not to do anything about it. Although this doesn't entirely fit into the prompt I've decided for this year, medications are a form of technology, and I think this does show the limits of it, contrasting it with nature. I'm not sure whether I like the edited version or the original because the edited version is a bit too on the nose.

I made this with charcoal, water, and gouache paint (white, black, and a tiny amount of blue). I found that I really enjoyed making it, especially the waves on the side of the boat, which came out much more realistic than I was expecting. Then, I added to it using procreate on my tablet.

I used lines to show texture and value. I used value to create the form of the waves, characters, and pill bottles. I used color to add depth in the left side of the drawing. This started as a rough charcoal drawing, then it became a gouache painting, then I added to it digitally. From here, I'm not sure what I would want to improve.