How do you capture a person's image? Technology gives us the ability to capture someone's likeness somewhat objectively, but is that a true representation of them? I wanted this painting to be an objective image of the protagonist as she would appear in photographs and other representations. She is shrouded in shadows in the shape of neurons to represent the web of darkness wrapped around her in life, and the artificial brain in the computer which pieces together information about her.
Missing (Subjective)
This is someone's (subjective) memory of the protagonist. When we remember a person, it's often not the exact features or details of their appearance, but the feeling they give us. This is why it's so difficult to paint from memory, which is what I tried to capture with this piece.
Exploring compositions via small thumbnail drawings
The first sketch that seemed to capture the feeling I was looking for
Watercolor and ink sketch of the final composition on paper before I started painting on canvas
Detail of finished watercolor painting.
Hand-stained frame and ink textures
Sketching lots of small thumbnails to find the right composition among variations
Settled on this representation which had the right amount of detail, simplicity and darkness.
