Post Traumatic Growth

Thoughts

I was becoming frustrated at not being able to achieve the look I wanted in the faces of my portraits as Posca markers don't blend well and I had limited colours. So, I decided to draw the face with pencils to achieve a softer look. She appears to be hopeful, but, to me, has sadness behind her eyes. This is implied by the blue tones around her eyes that don't appear elsewhere in her face giving her both a softer almost ethereal feel and this idea that something else is on her mind.

After blocking in colours, I liked the idea that she is coming out the other side and experiencing post-traumatic growth. Part of that growth, to me, is knowing how to protect yourself and feel safe so I have these interlocking shapes on her body like armour. Her hair signifies this growth aspect, and flowers emerge from her mind. She is able to be creative again, to nurture herself. When drawing in the background, it felt that she is stopped on a journey and looking forward. Behind her are doorways to her past that she is moving on from. However, she isn't running. She is calm. She knows herself and knows the future ahead is better than the one behind.

Process

After drawing the face in pencils, aiming for softer more pastel tones, I blocked in the rest with Posca markers.

I liked the idea of creating bold shapes, but shapes that would be complemented elsewhere in the piece. This lead me to the idea of amour, the woman would be wearing interlocking shapes, like pieces of armour. I don't think that intention is clear with how the piece came out, but I do enjoy the shapes made! To balance this, her hair needed a less controlled pattern. Finally, the blocks in the background just felt right. I think she is in a long corridor.