This assignment allows you to show off your developing style and use of tools and materials.  A magazine wants an illustration on one of the following topics:  Lost, Disaster, Discovery or Guilty secret.  The illustration should be based on a still life.  You have the freedom to select the items for the still life and the rest of the content.

What is a still life?

Anything that does not move.  A still life includes man-made or natural objects, cut flowers, fruit, vegetables, fish, game, wine, etc.  Still life can be a celebration of material pleasures such as food and wine, or often a warning of the transience of these pleasures and the brevity of human life. (Tate, 2022)

Memento Mori

A memento mori is an artwork designed to remind the viewer of their mortality and the shortness and fragility of human life.  Memento mori is a Latin phrase meaning “remember you must die”.  A memento mori painting could be a portrait with a skull, or others commonly found are hourglasses or clocks, extinguished or guttering candles, fruit and flowers. (Tate, 2022)

Spider diagram

I have decided on the word “Lost” and started by brainstorming.  First,  I investigated what the words “still life” means and also the words “memento mori”.  I used this as my starting point.

A still life can tell you a story.  It can be items that were left behind.  This made me think of a mermaid’s cave, with all the treasures from above the water and what it can tell you.  We live in challenging times today, and I can’t help but wonder if people were happier in the good old days.  Our grandparents had fewer material things and were more accepting of life in general. 

According to an article in the Daily Mail, many would associate the liberated society of the Sixties being among the happiest of times.  Still, it turns out people were much happier in the Thrifty Fifties. (Daily Mail, 2022)

The Guardian asked a similar question in July 2021: “Were people happier in the good old days?  And when was that?”  The readers were asked to send their answers, and The Guardian published it in an article called, “Were people happier in the good old days”. This made for an interesting read.  (The Guardian, 2021)

I will use the heading, “Were people happier in the olden days” as the subject for this magazine illustration.  We might have lost something as a society, living in the Information Age, whether it is human relationships, our privacy or maybe just too much information according to the internet slang abbreviation “TMI”.

Moodboard

I have collected visual references to explore the mood and colour.  I want the illustration to have a slightly serious and almost alarming tone, but it should not be too dark or disturbing.  Not everyone feels the same about this subject matter, and it is open to your own interpretation, so I want to keep the illustration’s mood according to this.

Drafts

My first drawing was a cup of coffee in a paper cup.  I have never seen my grandmother drink tea or coffee out of a paper cup.  Today, this is a widespread practice, and we even get excited over Starbuck’s Christmas cups. 

In figure 3, drawings one to seven, I am using the typical “Grande” coffee cup, but instead of a Christmas theme printed on the cup, I have a picture of how we used to drink coffee or tea.  I also played around with the diet culture and soda pop but decided not to go that route and tried different compositions and still life objects.

In drawings eight, I have made a detailed drawing once I had the composition figured out.  In drawing nine, I changed the print on the cup to an even older version as a possible option.  I explored typography by sticking to traditional hand lettering.  I am using dice as a symbol instead of a question mark.

Tonal version

I scanned the drawing into Photoshop to create a tonal version.  The final illustration will be a traditional drawing which will be more fitting, considering the subject matter.  I have decided to use mixed media using alcohol markers, coloured pencils, lino print and watercolour inks.  These digital drawings are drafts or thumbnails.

In digital drawing five (figure 4), I eliminated most of the lines, and in six I added more colour to see if I could achieve a better hierarchy.  I was happy with drawing six and knew from previous experience that digital drawings differ from traditional media.  It is important to test my colours before getting started.

I changed the face on the cup back to the 1950s lady drinking coffee as this picture reminds the viewer how we used to drink coffee.

Creative process

First, I had to figure out the colour of my lino print lettering.  The yellow was not opaque enough, even though I tried to add white.  I have decided to use black as my lettering and work from there.

In photo six, I have printed the black lettering onto marker paper and had to leave it overnight to dry.  I then transferred my image onto the paper by using tracing paper.  I had to make sure the image was placed correctly in relation to the lettering.  I decided to tilt the horizon slightly to create an exciting viewpoint and create tension.  Once I had the printing and image down on paper, I started choosing my colour palette and test blending options.

The finished illustration

I have painted the rest of the illustration with alcohol markers and finished it off with Polychromos coloured pencils.  Alcohol markers work well as a base to then add details with a coloured pencil.  I used a pencil blender to help the two mediums work well together.  I added key lines with a permanent black multi-liner and a white gelly roll pen.  The illustration was complete. 

In conclusion, I have done a lot of planning before starting the final illustration.  The digital work beforehand made me do away with the black outline, which produced a better image.  I have exaggerated the dice to symbolise a question.  The trees in the background are distorted to look like human beings arguing, showing an unsettled society.  A home in the sunshine reflects the “good old days”.  Behind the coffee cup is a sticky note with the message “phone your mom,” suggesting that relationships are not as solid as in the olden days.  A memento mori is an artwork designed to remind the viewer of their mortality and the shortness and fragility of human life.  The skull figure lurking in the darkness reminds the viewer, “remember you must die”.  

Works Cited

Tate, 2022. Tate. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/still-life
[Accessed 16 February 2022].

Tate, 2022. Tate. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/memento-mori
[Accessed 16 February 2022].

Daily Mail, 2022. Daily Mail. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3756368/Forget-age-plenty-happier-1700s-Briton-s-content-life-era-slums-gin-mothers-workhouses-today.html
[Accessed 20 February 2022].

The Guardian, 2021. The Guardian. [Online] 
Available at: https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&cx=007466294097402385199:m2ealvuxh1i&q=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jul/11/readers-reply-were-people-happier-in-the-good-old-days-and-when-were-they&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjgx8Gwno72AhUfgs4B
[Accessed 20 February 2022].