It's a little known fact that artists can choose to use their powers for good or for evil. Good would be most likely something along the lines of bringing beauty into the world, trying to find a purpose and meaning in life, or making a political statement. Evil would probably be when art is created for less than noble purposes. This would probably have to be in the category of evil. I'm easing everyone into this harsh reality with Jessica Keevoe. To quote Jane from Happy Endings, this drawing was one for the ol' buzz bank.
Growing up liking both girls and boys was confusing for me. Living in the south while doing so didn't make it any easier. My school had a Gay-Straight Alliance group and even though I would say that was great and progressive for it's time it was just that: hey everybody, pick a side! I couldn't put into words back then who I was on the inside. Mostly because by never sharing those thoughts and feelings with anyone I never really knew/had to acknowledge that I was different. But yeah . . . I was.
So I channeled a lot of that energy into things like my drawings. They were private. They could explore ideas without having to actually having to think about them out loud. And best of all (and this I was aware back then) if anybody did find out, if anybody did confront me I could just say it was artistic license- you guys, the female formed moved me (well, specific parts of me at least).
So anyway, Jessica. I was big into the beige/baby blue color combo at this time period and her underwear shows that. Yeah, that's right. I'm not going to pretend it's a swimsuit. I've accepted myself by now.
In redrawing her I decided to embrace my past and go full on sexualized. I think I managed to capture the idea of sexuality as performance in the redraw, as well as how gross it can be sometimes. I dedicate this drawing to all my peers who read the Fifty Shades of Grey books, bless their precious simple hearts.
Art Tips: Mmmm shiny. That hair is terr(ible) though.
Musings: I truly think that we are witnessing in our lifetime a literary period be birthed that will be talked about and studied in the future. The time when Twilight first got big and everyone started equating popularity with quality, paving the way for the Fifty Shades books and everything written by Gillian Flynn. It goes along with the “Fuck it, it's Been a Long Day and YA Still Counts as Reading so Hand Me a Hunger Games Book and a White Wine Spritzer and Leave me Alone for Two Hours” movement.