Stories in Art: Perhapses

“Life is too long to say anything definitely; always say perhaps.”    

 -Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

I chose the name storyseeker on Steemit because I seek both sides of every story. 

This practice usually results in two stories (or more) for every one you think up, and can make for more intriguing writing and art. 

But in life, I may be too good at seeing others’ points of view. I can root for the underdog and feel sympathetic towards the bully. I live by my own beliefs, but realize that others have alternative theories which must be as valid as my own. I swim in a purgatory of perhapses, wondering if any truths are in fact decidedly so.  

I treated this little drawing like I approach so many of life’s moments: I went in undecided, and questioned every move along the way. Leaving yourself open to change is a great gift we can give ourselves as creatives. While I’m a bit too methodical (and risk-averse) to approach big projects this way, I try to allow for it in smaller ones.
If you’ve followed any of my posts or work, you’ll already know that I tend to begin sketchbook doodles with faces and hair.  

So I started drawing this girl’s face and hair. I did not choose how she would look, nor what she wanted to say in advance. I watched her come alive. When she did, she looked pained and confused. She seemed decidedly undecided. She also appeared as if she was looking through me, choosing whether or not to tell me something she knows. This prompted me to draw a Ouija-board-plank-inspired-hairpiece and I decided to turn her into a fortune teller. 

I have long been fascinated with fortune tellers, so this seemed like a fun direction to go. I drew her dress to match the vintage feel of the headpiece, and gave her eccentric feather earrings. I drew her right hand out to hold a small crystal ball. I made her Ouija plank say “oui” but her necklace read “non”. I then allowed myself to look at the image anew and choose what to do next.

Now my girl appeared more unsure than knowing. She was no longer a fortune teller. I drew her sitting on a cloud. I drew airships flying around her while offering their verdicts. Perhaps these were her floating thoughts and I was drawing a conflicted mind at work.

I decided against the crystal ball, and my girl became a symbol for the undecided. I named the piece “Perhapses” and continued to play to this concept. Her hair flows one way and U-turns dramatically back. She sits on top of a cloud near the sun while it rains beneath. She has one shoe off and one shoe on.  

Will she stay or will she go? Is it yes or is it no?

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Related Challenge: Start drawing an image without any specific intention. Start where your interests and natural tendencies lie, but be open to change. Add a very specific detail (in my case, this was the Ouija board piece) and see how it changes the image. Work in small steps and remove yourself from the work along the way to reassess. See how your ideas change as you go and let them! This is how we grow as creatives. Finding yourself in unexpected places is good for the evolution of your creative process.

Technique: This image was drawn in my sketchbook with a sharp and very light 4H pencil. Contrast was added when it was scanned into Photoshop.   

Images © Jaime Zollars