23—26_ blue boyI’m not a natural drawing person, meaning I’m not someone who sits around sketching all day, and I can’t stand the sound of pencil on paper.
Looking to spark something different however, after a year of Pink Boy, I pinned some paper on the wall and did some quick large-ish ink drawings, bringing up a new character (and then a small cast): darker, more jaded, more self aware, more ’90s smirk to Pink Boy’s ’80s blush.
In thinking about vintage message tees and Gillian Wearing’s work, I wanted to see what would happen to the viewer/character relationship if they declared personal truths on their shirts.
I tried to bring the same first-thought-best-thought speed while doing the first painted versions and differentiated this new character further by making him blue, later remembering Picasso’s pink and blue periods, which I then referenced directly.
Layering these high-low references, along with all of the faces being lifted and recontextualized from classical paintings, was my way of asking if this idyllic past that is held in such high regard by many in art and politics today would be equally adored if it were happening now and had slacker hair?
