I have been working on this new piece since the end of February. Pencil on paper it depicts my grandmother Bernice Bowman at a similar age, if not the same to the previous drawing I posted. This time she sits on a small rowing boat on a lake (possibly Lake Michigan) in Illinois in the 1930’s. I liked the ghostly quality of the original black and white photograph and interpreted that a little in the drawing. The composition with the lake, simple and plain on that slight slant added to the air of mystery. It allows the viewer to project onto the artwork their own narrative. The concept with these drawings of Bernice was to create a triptych of her at this time in her life. In telling my grandfathers story of an innocence lost on the beaches, jungles and mountains of Pacific islands it is pivotal to tell my grandmothers story. A girl from the south side of Chicago raising twins by herself whilst the future seemed very uncertain.

After completing the second drawing of Bernice I put it with the first one and was pleased with the way they displayed. I thought that 3 more, so displaying 5 of them would be ideal adding a strong narrative element. It would depict different postures, styles and environments from around the same year building up a strong picture of her person.

I look forward to posting the next instalment in the series!