You may know that I am an artist as well as a writer of poetry, and that I have an art blog, Claudia McGill and Her Art World , in addition to this one. Recently I’ve completed a set of illustrations for a writing project, 28 days of flash fiction at Fictive Dream, an online magazine devoted to the short story.

The event is called Flash Fiction February and is going on right now, with a new flash fiction story each day. I’m showing you the artworks and presenting a short analysis of how I interpreted the story in paint, inks, and collage. I hope that once you look over what I’ve set out here, you will visit Fictive Dream and read the stories!

If you want to know more about the artwork side of the project, my art blog is currently featuring the artworks I did plus some posts outlining the ins and outs of my illustration process. 

25. No Remorse, by CG Thompson, February 25. This story is a suspenseful one with a main character who takes the situation into her own hands when things go bad at an ATM.  I included elements mentioned in the text – the red sign, the mugger, the dark night – in both paintings that I did.

For the first one (Image 51), I was influenced by a phrase in the story – “kaleidoscope of half thoughts”. It seemed to me to describe how a person in a stressful situation would view things – everything whirling around – while reality went on in a straight line.

For the second image (Image 52), I emphasized the elements of the car from inside looking out through the windshield: the steering wheel, the mugger in headlights, the yellow flower, and the red sign. Same elements, different look. Perhaps in that moment of clarity that leads to the conclusion of the incident?

Fictive Dream editor Laura Black’s comments:

Sweet revenge! I couldn’t help but to be on the protagonist’s side in No Remorse by CG Thompson. As you said, you created two artworks using the same elements but with different looks and both support the story very well. For me though, image #51 encapsulates the horror of this story. The emphasis on the headlights shining forcefully on the mugger brings the image to life. Also, I feel the details on the left with the turquoise reflect the inner chaos of the young woman. Fabulous.

26. Cuddle Inc., by Steve Carr, February 26. For this story of wanting to make connections, I used blue as the main color as it was present in different ways in the text – the TV set, the dark sky and stars, the symbolic color of water via the fish tank. I made two images for the story.

The first one (Image 8) reflected my feeling that this story presented one “reality” and then flipped it – the comforter in the end being the one needing to be comforted. I divided the picture into segments and reversed the columns, darks and pales, with a nod to the night sky and the orange fish in the aquarium.

The second image (Image 9) was done in the same colors but focused on the idea of the fish, with his change in status from favorite and comforting presence to dead and of no use, and in fact, another something to mourn over.

Laura Black’s comments:

The colour blue suits Cuddle Inc. by Steve Carr perfectly. It’s a sad story with lonely characters looking for human connection. I chose image # 8 because I like your idea of the reversal of roles – the comforter needing to be comforted. The dash of orange really lifts the artwork and, of course, is relevant to the story. Image #9 employs the same colours and would have worked equally well but I thought #8 with its ‘blocks’ would stand out more among the thumbnail views.

 

27. Ab Ovo, by Iris N. Schwartz, February 27. The author included this note with the story: Ab ovo: Latin: “from the beginning” (Collins English Dictionary); also, “the origin, the egg” (Wikipedia). It’s an affectionate story of a family, lots of mentions of laughter, but tinged with some sadness. Food, family meals, and eating food is the focus. The egg is the image that recurs throughout the story and ties it all together.

I used this idea to create two paintings with similar colors but different arrangements. I was clear from the beginning how I wanted to represent the story but I also wanted to try a couple of different compositions.

Both pictures include four “eggs”, one for each family member, and the background is made up of the colors of other foods mentioned:broccoli, yams, ketchup, orange juice, melon, and coffee.

I also put some biggish speckles to represent freckles, as mentioned in the text.

Image 59:

 

Image 60:

Laura Black’s comments:

What can I say about these two beautiful images? I loved the colours you used, I love the dominance of the eggs, and I love their energy. You presented me with a difficult choice but, in the end, I chose image #60. Two points influenced my choice. Firstly, the four eggs in #60 seem more anchored than their counterparts in #59. Strangely, this gives the eggs a certain movement whereas in image #59 the eggs have a floating quality. I like how the eggs engage with the family member at the breakfast table. Secondly, the banner is positioned above the eggs so that all of them are in full view.

 

28. Malachy, Niamh McCabe, February 28. This story concerned the death of a beloved family member from the perspective of the niece who had a special relationship with her uncle who is now about to leave her.

For the first image (Image 53), the girl is outside in the garden playing with the dog while the family waits. I used a green background to represent the garden and created a house full of people in black and white, mourning colors. I represented the uncle with a little bit of red, for his warm presence and set the narrator out in the yard, with the dog, surrounded by sunny colors, to represent the kind of relationship the uncle and narrator had had.

For the second image (Image 54), I focused on the uncle and narrator’s relationship – a
happy little memory of everyday things that is now enveloped in the solemnity of death and death rituals, separated forever now from daily reality by his death. I represented the two people by the green circles and put them in a small green garden – the memory of their relationship living on fresh and alive for the niece.

Laura Black’s comments:

Malachy by Niamh MacCabe is set in Ireland. You said you had a little difficulty in engaging with some of the references in this story and, that in order to create the artwork, you placed it in a context with which you were familiar. Then you said, ‘I guess any way into a story is a good way?’ I think this is absolutely right. Both of your options would have done justice to this story. I chose image #53 because it focuses on happier days with its beautiful green grass and blue sky. I very much like the contrast between the mourning taking place in the house and the undertones of happier days that are reflected in the garden.

And there you have it – the seventh four stories and their images. We are at the end of the stories for Flash Fiction February 2019. Thank you for reading!

Notes on the project:

My practice with each story was to read it very carefully, making notes and small sketches about elements that sparked a visual image. Fictive Dream editor Laura Black also gave me her input for each story. All the artwork is non-representational as outlined in the specifications Laura had for the project. The paintings are about 11.5″ x 7.25″ each and are primarily acrylics on watercolor paper, although there is some collage work as well. I usually made a couple of images per story and Laura chose which one would be displayed with the story.

 

You may know that I am an artist as well as a writer of poetry, and that I have an art blog, Claudia McGill and Her Art World , in addition to this one. Recently I’ve completed a set of illustrations for a writing project, 28 days of flash fiction at Fictive Dream, an online magazine devoted to the short story.

The event is called Flash Fiction February and is going on right now, with a new flash fiction story each day. I’m showing you the artworks and presenting a short analysis of how I interpreted the story in paint, inks, and collage. I hope that once you look over what I’ve set out here, you will visit Fictive Dream and read the stories!

If you want to know more about the artwork side of the project, my art blog is currently featuring the artworks I did plus some posts outlining the ins and outs of my illustration process. 

 

21. Pupazzo, by Salvatore Difalco, February 21. This story is about a man trapped by his inner turmoil and how it affects him even to how his own body moves. He has become one with his fears. There is great sadness and lack of hope.

In the first image (Image 18), I used the falling snow as described in the text, employing cold colors. I was thinking of the apartment building (from outside) and how the narrator is trapped in it with the persistent images of the accident, the transference of what he saw into his own body, and the resulting stiffness and immobility that he experiences. I used the  bent shapes to represent the jerky movements and angled postures always present – even at home there is no refuge.

In the second image (Image 19) I reversed the perspective and thought of the view of outdoors from inside the window, again using snow spatters and cold colors, representing the narrator trapped in his home. He is seeing the traumatic images outside that are keeping him in, and once again they are transferred into his own body and manifest themselves through it.

Fictive Dream editor Laura Black’s comments:

In Pupazzo by Salvatore Difalco the protagonist witnesses an accident and, apart from some spasmodic movements, is rendered immobile. He cannot leave his apartment, no more than he can leave the memories of the incident behind him. Of the two options you provided I chose image #18 because it keeps the reader within the apartment with the protagonist. The rectangles and squares, the cold colours and the encroaching ice all work together to give us a sense of being trapped.

 

22. On the Border of Twilight, Annie Q. Syed, February 22. This story juxtaposes the living and the dead the past and the future, against a backdrop of everyday life, the present. In both paintings I included the pink and periwinkle mentioned in the text against black, to represent the dead, and white, for the living. I made two images for this story.

The first image (Image 57) includes the couple in the story represented by pink, alive and moving into the future, under the periwinkle sky, with the past and the dead ranked on either side.

 

The second image (Image 58) includes a periwinkle and pink sky with a stark landscape in front of it, broken into pieces, the dead and the past underfoot, their day ended. Yet life is going on nonetheless for everyone in the story who is still alive – though they are living in and with the past, literally, even as they go forward.

 

Laura Black’s comments:

On the Border of Twilight by Annie Q Syed opens with a reference to a pink and white flower arrangement, a celebration of love, it would seem. Yet, the backdrop for this story is a war zone. The alternative artworks you created both reflect the conflicted emotions that the couple feels. That said, there is a sense of optimism in the story and, for me at least, this is reflected in image #57. The lovers may be surrounded by the dead, but the sky is open to them; they can move forward to some sort of future.

 

23. February 23, Baptism at Venice Beach, Jaime Balboa. This story features the saving of a girl surfer with a lot of uncertainty surrounding the situation. Is there a religious overtone here?  How reliable is the narrator’s mental state? Does the girl need saving and in what sense? The conch/oracle’s message is ambiguous. Friendly or murderous or something in between?

There was a sense of menace and an uncertainty as to what will be the outcome that I wanted to put into the art. I did two images that address two different parts of the story.

The first image (Image 28) is drawn from the daytime section of the story, when the girl is in the water in her turquoise surfing suit. I painted colors representing the girl, the surf, and the beach on top of a pink/red underlayer  which represented the conch and its message.

The second image (Image 29) is set earlier in the story and is drawn from the nighttime section when the narrator encounters the conch. I painted the night surf in dark colors on top of a black gesso layer that added more depth to the colors, even the brighter ones. I included a pink/red area to represent the conch and also a bit of turquoise spreading into the sea, to represent the girl who is the subject of the conch’s message.

Laura Black’s comments:

Baptism at Venice Beach by Jaime Balboa, which incidentally uses language in a most original way, is a dark and intriguing story. Its setting is the cold ocean on a dreary February night and image #29 encapsulates the setting perfectly. Even through the black of the image we get glimpses of colour, which represent important aspects of this piece. Image #28 with the focus on pink, red and light blue is very eye-catching. That said, I preferred the more sinister approach.

24. Altercation, by Matt Kendrick, February 24. This story was just packed with descriptions, imagery, and color, giving me plenty to work with in this story of a slice from a couple’s relationship.

I made two paintings. The first one (Image 42) relates to the fact that the story was very red to me. There were several different references including the wine, flowers, etc.…and red is traditionally the color of anger. I included the knife and the onions next to the sink in the kitchen, with the dripping faucet and its ripples, once again, to me, an expression of anger emanating out and expanding. Because I just didn’t think these people were finished with being angry.

In the second image (Image 43), I included two vague figures; I was taken by the description of there being ghosts of the people (in other moods and times) in the room. The man is defensive, the woman is accusing. I added the wine flowing around them, as it is mentioned at the end of the story as continuing to soak the tablecloth. And I also painted the crack in the ceiling, as mentioned in the text, the crack that doesn’t stay fixed. Like this relationship.

Laura Black’s comments:

Your take that Altercation by Matt Kendrick is about a relationship in which the cracks refuse to remain fixed is pretty accurate. We meet the couple during a temporary ceasefire and, with this in mind, I chose image #43. The sombre palette suits the mood, I feel. It’s testament to the story’s richness of imagery that you created two very different illustrations. You say image #42 engages with the anger that pervades the story, and you used the colour red. This illustration would certainly have supported the story but the more subdued approach seemed right for the story.

And there you have it- the sixth four stories and their images. Thank you for reading.

Notes on the project:

My practice with each story was to read it very carefully, making notes and small sketches about elements that sparked a visual image. Fictive Dream editor Laura Black also gave me her input for each story. All the artwork is non-representational as outlined in the specifications Laura had for the project. The paintings are about 11.5″ x 7.25″ each and are primarily acrylics on watercolor paper, although there is some collage work as well. I usually made a couple of images per story and Laura chose which one would be displayed with the story.

You may know that I am an artist as well as a writer of poetry, and that I have an art blog, Claudia McGill and Her Art World , in addition to this one. Recently I’ve completed a set of illustrations for a writing project, 28 days of flash fiction at Fictive Dream, an online magazine devoted to the short story.

The event is called Flash Fiction February and is going on right now, with a new flash fiction story each day. I’m showing you the artworks and presenting a short analysis of how I interpreted the story in paint, inks, and collage. I hope that once you look over what I’ve set out here, you will visit Fictive Dream and read the stories!

If you want to know more about the artwork side of the project, my art blog is currently featuring the artworks I did plus some posts outlining the ins and outs of my illustration process. 

17. The Woman with a Thousand Faces, by Sandra Arnold, February 17. This story is one of  perseverance, rising above adversity, and the hope and determination that make it possible. The setting of the story was to me a manifestation of the woman-being and its shifting and merging aspects that contact the narrator’s spirit. It is central to the text and therefore the illustration.

Following this idea I decided to  be a bit more objective in my depictions and did two landscape images including the elements mentioned in the story: peaks, water, sun, sky.

I picked warm colors that to me said “hope”. I varied the look of the two pieces with different shapes and positioning, but both of them are portraits of the spirit of the landscape as well as that of the narrator.

Image 26:

 

Image 27:

 

Fictive Dream editor Laura Black’s comments:

There’s a tremendous sense of optimism in this story by Sandra Arnold and both of the illustrations that you created convey this. Although I told you of my preference for image #27 early on, I was going back and forth between the options for a long time behind the scenes. The aspects that I particularly liked in image #26 were the splashiness of the river water and the solidity of the mountains (important in the story). In the end, I chose #27 with its beautiful pink peaks perhaps foreshadowing that the woman would be reaching new heights in her life.

18. February 18, Free Fall, by Jacqueline Doyle. To me this story was about everything falling apart. Carefully constructed assumptions go to pieces and fall away in this story, just like falling out of the car and the groceries going flying – leaving the narrator figuratively in pieces – in doubt and wondering what is true, questioning things that would not have been questioned before. Something has broken.

I made two pictures along the same lines. Both images have the blue car, the brown/gray grocery bag, and the apples that might now be too bruised. All of these are tumbling off in a cornfield-like setting that’s cheerful and ordinary, like everybody else in the world who hasn’t had things just fall apart, but is still living an ordinary life.

In the first image ( Image 49) I focused on the elements mentioned above. I wanted to depict the rest of the world as somewhat oblivious, so I put a sun in the sky, far away.

 

In this second image (Image 50), I used the same elements but focused in more on the “cornfield” setting and added to the number of the bruised apples, to reflect the moment of things falling apart and assumptions scattering.

 

 

Laura Black’s comments:

I found Free Fall by Jacqueline Doyle disturbing and images of the dusty cornfield and the man’s ginger hair just stayed with me. When I saw the two pieces of artwork you had created I knew straightaway that image #49 was the right one. It has an uncomfortable heat to it and perfectly represents the environment in which the protagonist is trapped. Image #50 is a fine illustration in itself. However, because it portrays green and rather luxuriant surroundings, I didn’t think it was as a good a fit for the story.

19. February 19, 1918, by Francine Witte. The story is dark in all ways – the colors mentioned are dark and the character Finkus is portrayed as coming in the house after a day of doing work that gets his clothes greasy and muddy. The overall tone of the story is dark and sad. I chose colors to reflect this idea for my artwork.

To me the structure of this story was that of repetition. One day after another, year after year, there is bad news all the time and the characters will never be getting away from it. It felt like a calendar in my mind, a grid filled in with despair.

I therefore did a couple of black/brown/gray/white images with a subtle grid. Both also included a bit of collaged printed pages to emphasize the linear nature of this story – things go only in one direction.

One image was very dark and the other more neutral, one more structured and the other looser, because I wanted to emphasize the different tones the story brought to mind in its descriptions. In each painting, however,  I included a small splash of red to break up the palette and to represent the flash of insight and consideration Finkus shows.

Image 6:

 

Image 7:

 

Laura Black’s comments:

1918 by Francine Witte is a dark story with a dark illustration to accompany it. My own ideas the illustration were influenced by certain details in the bleak scenario: the splotch of mud, the splash of grease and the meagre stew with slivers of beef. The palette you chose was exactly right, but it was your own interpretation that determined my choice. Your picked up on the story’s repetition, ‘one day after another, year after year, bad news all the time…’ and you went onto say, ‘It felt like a calendar in my mind.’ And so I chose image # 6 with its grid and stand-out splashes of red. Another perfect match between text and artwork.

20. Solitaire, by Travis Cravey, February 20. The influences here were playing cards and their colors. This story was structured with the family occupying one large space, divided between father/child and the mother. The father tried to create a warm safe place for the child when the mother retreated to her space, the card game. For her it was an escape; to me I felt it was a strategy that didn’t seem very helpful or reviving for her, but it was her space and one that she needed. The family members are not at odds, but they cannot always help each other, either, and so there is separation.

I used the playing card symbols in a somewhat recognizable way in the first image (Image 22), setting them in the section I designated as the mother’s space, with the left side being the father/child side.

 

I made a similar arrangement in the second image (Image 23), but showed the desk with the cards laid out on it with a diamond background pattern. In both cases I made the mother’s side of the picture much bigger because it loomed so large in the mental spaces of all the characters.

 

Laura Black’s comments:

Solitaire by Travis Cravey is a tough story, which employs the motif of the playing card. Of the two artworks you prepared I chose image #23 because of its hard lines and the use of grey which engages so well with the metal table at which mother in the story plays her lonely card game every evening. I like the way in which the artwork implies the suits of the card and reflects the bleakness of the story.

 

And there you have it- the fifth four stories and their images. Thank you for reading.

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Notes on the illustration project for Flash Fiction February 2019:

My practice with each story was to read it very carefully, making notes and small sketches about elements that sparked a visual image. Fictive Dream editor Laura Black also gave me her input for each story. All the artwork is non-representational as outlined in the specifications Laura had for the project. The paintings are about 11.5″ x 7.25″ each and are primarily acrylics on watercolor paper, although there is some collage work as well. I usually made a couple of images per story and Laura chose which one would be displayed with the story.

You may know that I am an artist as well as a writer of poetry, and that I have an art blog, Claudia McGill and Her Art World , in addition to this one. Recently I’ve completed a set of illustrations for a writing project, 28 days of flash fiction at Fictive Dream, an online magazine devoted to the short story.

The event is called Flash Fiction February and is going on right now, with a new flash fiction story each day. I’m showing you the artworks and presenting a short analysis of how I interpreted the story in paint, inks, and collage. I hope that once you look over what I’ve set out here, you will visit Fictive Dream and read the stories!

If you want to know more about the artwork side of the project, my art blog is currently featuring the artworks I did plus some posts outlining the ins and outs of my illustration process. 

13. On February 13, No Vacancies by Anne Goodwin. From the text, I had a very clear visual picture of the setting – it was a very atmospheric story. The first picture I did (Image 44) focuses on the stairs and the room. I began by gessoing the paper in black to emphasize the darkness and depth. The elements are suspended in the sparkly rainy night, the room a black hole with that miserable light bulb hanging from the ceiling the only note of feeble contrast to the dark and dreariness.

As the lady character said in the story, it’s a room. Maybe not even that, it seemed to me. More like a trap. A dungeon. Imprisonment for a night’s rest! A bit scary. This is the feeling I wanted to convey with the dark colors, low contrast, and simple shapes.

The second image for this story (Image 45) takes the viewer through the thought process of the narrator in anticipating the room’s appearance. First there is the bright child’s room, then the student’s room, and then the reality – empty and dark with just enough light to see that there is nothing there of warmth and comfort, in fact, just…nothing. The bad kind of nothing.

I wanted to show the difference between the idealized rooms and the reality. I gessoed the dark half of the painting with black and on the brighter half I painted directly on the white paper – it gives even more contrast to the colors.

Fictive Dream editor Laura Black’s comments:

Both options you created for No Vacancies, without doubt, are a great fit for the story and the decision could have gone either way. However, in this instance, I not only considered the best image for the story but the overall effect on the Home Page thumbnail views. I thought it was time for another monochrome illustration and this fit the bill perfectly. In relation to the text, image #44 reflects the despair that the two characters are feeling at the end of the piece. It just shows how, in the right hands, so much can be conveyed in black.

14. Cargo, by Steven Connolly, on February 14. The balloons featured in the text were the main and obvious motif here – they direct the story, seemingly alive and active in of themselves. They are agents of freedom.

I made two images. They have in common bright lively colors and round shapes. I also used limited amounts of black ink to sharpen the colors by contrast. I wanted to focus on the hopeful aspects in this story rather than the sadness. In both cases I set the balloons in the sky, because they are free there and under no one’s thumb, unlike the refugees and the boy in the story.

The first one (Image 38) is more of a static portrait of the balloons with their strings, crowding the sky in ranks, maybe as they just start out on their journey.

The second painting (Image 37) shows the balloons in motion, dangling their tags covered with drawings.

Laura Black’s comments:

Despite the sad context of this story, I love its originality and exuberance. There’s optimism in the way those balloons tap tap tap their way to the young boy. Both of the illustrations you created for this story would have worked well – they’re both vibrant and both make us of the balloon motif. My reason for choosing image #37, however, is that the balloons have movement – you can feel them floating through the air. I also found the slightly lighter blue background very appealing. Just lovely.

15. Little People, by DS Levy, on February 15. This story involves a couple who visit real estate open houses, an activity familiar to me – visiting open houses on Sunday afternoons is a long-time family tradition, both when I was growing up and then in adulthood with my husband (whose father was a real estate broker).

My take on this story was that the characters Dick and Glenda seem mischievous on the surface, but their activities have darker undertones. They are playing jokes on people they don’t know, in their own homes, those homes that they have entered under the guise of another activity altogether, and doing so in an anonymous kind of passive-aggressive way.

Additionally, they are leaving toy army soldiers, with their aggressive connotations, using them to criticize or admonish the inhabitants. As they do more of it, it feels more and more invasive and you start to wonder what new ideas they might get…

I made two images with a common color scheme. The first image (Image 11) includes an army green section advancing on an open field of red tones. The green represents the soldiers and the pink/red/white  area is for the “carnage” the characters envision the soldiers leaving. It also stands for the ice cream stop at the end of the story that may or may not be escalating the warfare.

In the second image (Image 10), I wanted to depict the setting as I envisioned it, suburbia, as the hobby is focused on homes and the very suburban activity of visiting open houses. I put a shape suggesting a house in an army-green landscape-like setting and I set red/pink edging its way into this tableau to represent, once again, the “carnage” the army soldiers wreak.

Laura Black’s comments:

I loved Little People by DS Levy the moment I read it. It takes a while for the darker side of this story to sink in which is why I chose image #11. The artwork privileges the colours of ice cream and days out. Overall I felt this image was more in keeping with the story – at least, one’s initial reading of it.

That said, image #10 is among my favourites of the whole project. I love the dominant rich green and how it complements the touch of red and pink on the left. The small, black house conveys a secretive quality. Anyhow, I made my decision and I’m pleased to say that I was able to use image #10 for the promotions leading up to February.

16. Recruitment (with Bosco), by Louis Gallo, February 16. This story involved a family on a college recruiting trip. I visualized the story in terms of the college campus with red buildings, the line of parents and prospective students on tour, and then Bosco the dog looping around the whole scene.

The dog’s name comes from a kind of chocolate syrup (I didn’t know this fact and so I researched it to make sure I understood where I was with this important point) and so I included the color brown in various ways in the three images I made. I also included a green campus and red buildings – in my everyday world, many colleges include at least one building, usually the oldest and most revered, constructed in a red brick classical-architecture type style and sitting on a big green open area, so I chose that combination to represent stuffiness. The buildings and people are straight and stiff, bent on making a good impression. Bosco lightens things up with big sweeping strokes and interferes with the decorum.

Working with the story, I was very clear on the structure of the paintings, but I tried out three different looks to satisfy myself, because I was just not sure which one I liked best. My thinking was, rather than censor myself and just do one, I would make the versions and give Laura a choice.

Additionally, the looping paintings, well, I created them in one orientation and then flipped them, and then unflipped them. Finally one was left as I painted it and I turned the other one around. I won’t tell you which one is which. Some things need to stay a secret.

Here are the three versions. Image 39:

Image 40:

Image 41:

Laura Black’s comments:

The star of Recruitment (with Bosco) by Louis Gallo is “a sort of battered Boston terrier” that attaches itself to a group of parents on their campus visit. The dog is the colour of Bosco, which I’d never heard of but found out was a chocolate coloured drink. No wonder then that of the three pieces you prepared for this story I chose image #39. You show the path the dog takes in both illustrations but it seemed fitting to go with the Bosco-coloured path rather than the white of image #40. I was also very taken with the green background of #39, this really appealed to me. This is a charming story (and one that imparts some wisdom), and it’s accompanied by a rather charming image.

 

And there you have it- the fourth four stories and their images. Thank you for reading.

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Notes on the Flash Fiction February 2019 illustration project

My practice with each story was to read it very carefully, making notes and small sketches about elements that sparked a visual image. Fictive Dream editor Laura Black also gave me her input for each story. All the artwork is non-representational as outlined in the specifications Laura had for the project. The paintings are about 11.5″ x 7.25″ each and are primarily acrylics on watercolor paper, although there is some collage work as well. I usually made a couple of images per story and Laura chose which one would be displayed with the story.

 

You may know that I am an artist as well as a writer of poetry, and that I have an art blog, Claudia McGill and Her Art World , in addition to this one. Recently I’ve completed a set of illustrations for a writing project, 28 days of flash fiction at Fictive Dream, an online magazine devoted to the short story.

The event is called Flash Fiction February and is going on right now, with a new flash fiction story each day. I’m showing you the artworks and presenting a short analysis of how I interpreted the story in paint, inks, and collage. I hope that once you look over what I’ve set out here, you will visit Fictive Dream and read the stories!

If you want to know more about the artwork side of the project, my art blog is currently featuring the artworks I did plus some posts outlining the ins and outs of my illustration process. 

All right, here we go. Note: each painting has an image number, done for my record-keeping purposes, and is so referenced in the writeups.

9. Family Gathering, by Paul Beckman, February 9. This story is the only one for which I did just one painting. Upon reading the story, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

To me, it had a very clear structure. There are complainers on one side, there are laughers on the other side, and the mother and twins are in the middle. The latter are the glue that is holding this occasion together. They somewhat absorb elements of each side and they mediate the party/the composition, but they are also distinct entities themselves and have their own separate viewpoint.

I visualized this story as three panels and each one got its own color. The red splotches in the middle one represent the mother and twins and their apple pie, and they provide a focus for the composition, just as the three people focus the story.

Fictive Dream editor Laura Black’s comments:

There are many references to colour in this story by virtue of all the foods that are mentioned. And, as you said, Claudia, a very clear structure. Of all the foods, it’s the apple pie that’s most important and I love the way in which the mother and her twins sit in the centre of the composition with their pie. A perfect image for this piece of writing.

10. February 10, Man Parts, by Nod Ghosh. I had two mental images of this story, structure-wise. I could see it organized either as a path or as a structure, in both cases with the narrative built out of the recurring shoe appearances and augmentations and permutations. I made two images, one for each of these interpretations.

First was the structure version (Image 20) – I saw things as sort of an inverted pyramid, one shoe, more shoes, they move around, get new friends in the form of items of clothing, and then…well…

I used colors derived from the descriptions of the various days – from messy snow all the way to green/yellow for the grass and crocuses. And red for the trash can, and for blood…

The second image (Image 21) is the path version. I organized it loosely by the progression of days – snow and night and up to green/crocuses. Plus red for trash can/blood.

Laura’s comments:

Man Parts by Nod Ghosh is an unusual story with numerous references to colour but it wasn’t always easy to decide what was most relevant in terms of influences for an illustration. Originally I chose image #20 because for me the ice with footprints was more prominent and the dark blocks could represent the ‘parts.’ Towards the end of the process I changed my mind in favour of #21 on the grounds that it better represented the passing of time. These two images were more abstract than others, if I may put it that way and it was difficult to make a choice.

 

11. Mountain Lake, by Leonard Kress, February 11.  This story was rich in allusions and symbols, reminding me of a myth, a legend, or a folkloric tale. In an otherworldly kind of setting, three men and a woman are all alone in an isolated place. I could not help but think of the woman as a kind of Eve/nature goddess/temptress/sorceress type of being and the men as representing a supporting cast of worshipers in different stages of evolution as to what their relationships were to the Eve/goddess/etc. There were overtones of a quest full of magical certainties.

Given this impression, I chose to represent the setting, a lake, and use the colors of the time of day, early evening, which were very suitable because of the detached tone of the story and the detached, almost remote, tone. I made three images, all including the same elements: I represented the three men as dark shapes and the woman in white, as she was described, in the lake, with the rocks and sky.

My idea was to meld the human and the inanimate elements into one integrated composition in the same way the story did.

Image 30

 

Image 31

 

Image 32

Laura’s comments:

I found this an intriguing story with writing that has a delicate touch. I must have a deep memory about a similar landscape because immediately I saw this story in the violets and purples of the early evening. I don’t know if you saw it like that too, Claudia, but you kindly accommodated (note from Claudia – yes, I did see the same color scheme, on my first reading and before looking over the marked up version of the story in which Laura mentioned it) and I thought the results fantastic. Of the three options image #32 stood out most of all, and it was the representation of the female figure in white that did it. This reflects her quiet dominance in the story. I love the three male figures huddled together, each with a black squiggle reflecting their confusion. Just perfect.

12. This Isn’t How We Live, by Sudha Balagopal, February 12. In this story, there were several elements that stood out to me: the house, the mother’s feet, and the plant growth around the house. Though the mother’s situation is sad and only going to grow more difficult as her mind becomes more distressed and dislocated, that’s not something she can comprehend, so she returns to her house because that is where she is herself, where she belongs.

I found her determination to return there again and again and to take responsibility for the home she could no longer live in very touching and affecting, because of course everyone else in the story as well as the reader knows the truth.

I made two images and in both I included a house shape to represent home, with green growth around it. I included the red color for her feet that wore themselves out getting home. Despite the inherent sadness of this story, I used bright colors that reflect her attachment to this place and the idea that even in this hopeless situation, home is a kind of a beacon.

Image 35

 

Image 36

Laura’s comments:

This was another of those stories for which I found making a choice of image difficult. Without doubt both options would have worked. They are both colourful and reflect the story very well. In the end, I chose image #36 for these reasons: the addition of a layer of colour beneath the blades of grass lightens it up, the sky is a touch lighter (for me, that keeps us in daylight hours), and while the house is smaller, it’s also empty, which of course is the problem for the elderly woman. The representation of the woman in image #35 as lying down gave me an impression of death whereas, in her spirit, she is very much alive.

And there you have it – the third four stories and their images. Thank you for reading.

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Notes on the project:

My practice with each story was to read it very carefully, making notes and small sketches about elements that sparked a visual image. Fictive Dream editor Laura Black also gave me her input for each story. All the artwork is non-representational as outlined in the specifications Laura had for the project. The paintings are about 11.5″ x 7.25″ each and are primarily acrylics on watercolor paper, although there is some collage work as well. I usually made a couple of images per story and Laura chose which one would be displayed with the story.

You may know that I am an artist as well as a writer of poetry, and that I have an art blog, Claudia McGill and Her Art World , in addition to this one. Recently I’ve completed a set of illustrations for a writing project, 28 days of flash fiction at Fictive Dream, an online magazine devoted to the short story.

The event is called Flash Fiction February and is going on right now, with a new flash fiction story each day. I’m showing you the artworks and presenting a short analysis of how I interpreted the story in paint, inks, and collage. I hope that once you look over what I’ve set out here, you will visit Fictive Dream and read the stories!

If you want to know more about the artwork side of the project, my art blog is currently featuring the artworks I did plus some posts outlining the ins and outs of my illustration process. 

All right, here we go. Note: each painting has an image number, done for my record-keeping purposes, and is referenced so in the writeups.

5. The Wine Lover, by Kate Mahony, February 5. To me, this story was about people connected by only one thing and they don’t even see that one thing in the same way. They inhabit two very different worlds and the one point of intersection is not enough to build a relationship or friendship although maybe the narrator likes to think so for a while. Wine is the motif here, the substance carries symbolism in the structure of the story, and the obvious influence to my artwork was the colors of the wine.

I decided to use vague bottle shapes and the red and white colors of wine in both images. In the first one (Image 16), they are placed next to each other but the red one is divided, half in the white bottle world and half in its own hemmed-in existence.

In the second one (Image 17), I was thinking of the moment when the two characters met at the ATM, with the red bottle coming up behind the white bottle mirroring the people’s actions. I gave contrasting backgrounds to the shapes, to represent the different worlds the people live in that they stand in for.

Fictive Dream editor Laura Black’s comments:

The Wine Lover by Kate Mahony steered us towards certain colours and it was easy for me to choose between your choices of artwork. I was very much taken by image 17 with its representations of red and white bottles of wine. I like also like the textures in this piece of artwork. I also found appealing the darker background behind the red bottle and the lighter background behind the white bottle.

6. On February 6, Baggage, by Anne O’Leary. From the description in the story, I interpreted the bird as a peacock and so the colors of blue and green guided the color schemes. I did a little research on the actual bird and learned it can fly, but not too long or too high.

I saw the narrator wishing to give this bird, and what it symbolizes to her (in fact I think there was a kind of symbiosis between them) which to me was the state of being earthbound and wishing to fly, figuratively, but being held down.  There is room and air and the ability to be free but instead, forced by circumstances, they have to move around by prosaic bus and stay on the ground.

I made three images. Two of them (Images 46 and 48) were takes on the same idea – the ground is represented but the sky is full of the bird and by extension the narrator – they fly.

 

The third one (Image 47) refers to a passage where the narrator describes the bird as a cloak – referencing the idea of being anonymous in a crowd and yet standing out at the same time – being something that separates and gives some distance but does not allow being overlooked, either.

Once again, I felt there was a kind of synthesis of two opposing things. I painted a birdish cloak shape for anonymity and lines of people crowding around for notice – two opposing things in the same painting, inside the same frame.

 

Laura’s comments:

This unusual story features a beautiful bird, a peacock no doubt, although that’s never said. Of all the choices it was image #46 that felt was right with its greens, blues and gold. I very much like that it takes us into the sky which is where the protagonist would so much like to bring her bird.

7. Vetted, by Sheree Shatsky, on February 7. I thought this was a funny story with a tart tone and I enjoyed the knitting allusions, as I knit myself, or, to be more truthful, I did lots of lots of it for decades, but not so much these days.

I did two scenes including the two people in the story, lady on left, man on right, dog in between, including knitting and newspaper and a little bit of muted blood for the  (diaper-pin) stabbing. I felt these people would even bleed in muted colors. I set the two characters inside their own color areas to mark the separation they are living within the same overall frame.

In this story, color carries the theme. These people are washed-out colors as opposed to brilliant and glowing, symbolizing where they are in life. Everyone seems to be in a slow slide to the end, sooner or later, as the dog’s condition predicts. I could imagine these people sitting in this same scenario for years.

And then again, maybe not?

Here is Image 33:

 

and here is Image 34.

Laura’s comments:

Claudia, you described these characters as ‘sitting in this same scenario for years’ and that’s exactly the sense I have of them. The palette you chose works perfectly for this story and I was particularly taken with image # 33. I very much like the way in which the dog sits between the two figures. Also, I like the muted spots of blood on the male figure. Image #34 would have worked but, for me at least the two figures are not as distinct.

 

8. On February 8, Bear, by Barbara Lovric. The heroine of this story is a toy bear, but there is nothing cute or cuddly about her. Instead she is fierce and protective, like a real-life bear defending her cub. Bear got hold of a bad situation and took care of things. And how.

I focused on her in both pictures I made, using the same motifs of teeth and claws and using brown for fur and red for blood. I used sharp shapes and bold colors to reflect the intensity of feeling in the story.

Here is Image 55:

 

and here is Image 56.

Laura’s comments:

This is disturbing writing in which not a word is wasted. Both images focus on the bear of the story and no wonder – the bear is a powerful motif. I could have chosen either of the images as they would have worked equally well. In the end, I chose image #55 because of the emphasis on the red and the marginally more defined spikes. Here again, text and artwork support each other.

And there you have it- the second four stories and their images. Thank you for reading.

My practice with each story was to read it very carefully, making notes and small sketches about elements that sparked a visual image. Fictive Dream editor Laura Black also gave me her input for each story. All the artwork is non-representational as outlined in the specifications Laura had for the project. The paintings are about 11.5″ x 7.25″ each and are primarily acrylics on watercolor paper, although there is some collage work as well. I usually made a couple of images per story and Laura chose which one would be displayed with the story.

You may know that I am an artist as well as a writer of poetry, and that I have an art blog, Claudia McGill and Her Art World , in addition to this one. Recently I’ve completed a set of illustrations for a writing project, 28 days of flash fiction at Fictive Dream, an online magazine devoted to the short story.

The event is called Flash Fiction February and is going on right now, with a new flash fiction story each day. I’m showing you the artworks and presenting a short analysis of how I interpreted the story in paint, inks, and collage. I hope that once you look over what I’ve set out here, you will visit Fictive Dream and read the stories!

If you want to know more about the artwork side of the project, my art blog is currently featuring the artworks I did plus some posts outlining the ins and outs of my illustration process. 

All right, here we go. Note: each painting has an image number, done for my record-keeping purposes, and is referenced so in the writeups.

1. The first story of the event, on February 1, was Bullseye, by Meg Pokrass. The characters in this story are stuck in one place and that is where they are going to stay, no matter what the external circumstances. The mood of it was of limitations and an overlay of sadness, I thought. I made two images for it.

The first image (Image 12 in the series) drew from my feeling that these people occupy the same space but they don’t intersect with each other, even though they share experiences. Therefore I drew two circles, side by side, not touching. I saw them as being people living in monochrome rather than in color so I gave them a black/white palette – except for the wife, who got a little dot of red for finding something an invigorating element in her life.

The second image (Image 13) is along the same lines. I envisioned these people as two pages in a book, side by side, but separate, as pages are, though they are part of the same story. And they aren’t able to change their places in the story, any more than pages can move around or progress – they are always going to be located in this specific place in the book. I gave each character its own page – the husband and his words and the wife and her target shooting.

Here are Fictive Dream editor Laura Black’s comments on the artwork for this story:

Your interpretation of this sad story was exactly right – two people situated in the same space but no longer relating to each other. Worse still, unable to move forward in their respective lives having made the decision to divorce.

I felt image 12 encapsulated the story perfectly. I love the two heads that appear to be almost bandaged and therefore, one unable to connect with the other. The red dot is a wonderful detail. For me it represents undertones of the pain the female character is no doubt feeling, and also her new interest of target practice.

Although the chosen image is on the button, image 13 would certainly have worked. However, as you were sending material through to me, I had an eye on artwork that would be right for promotional social media. I felt image 13 was a good promotional image because of the use of text so I put that one aside and indeed I used it in social medial in the run up to February.

2. This Is Not a Pencil Box, by Angie Spoto, on February 2. I did four images (Image Numbers 1-4) for this story – there are so many because I was kind of feeling my way, this being the first story that I illustrated.

To me the story is full of boxes and breaking out of them. The sandbox on the playground, the pencil box that is the focus of the action, the bully who is flummoxed by the out-of-the-box thinking of the spunky and intelligent little girl narrator, and the final idea of the sandbox as a safe place: with all of these elements, it was easy for me to see this story needed to be represented by rectangles and squares. The author was also quite clear on colors, mentioning several in the story. I included yellow pencils, green box, and white shoes.

Laura’s comments:

The first set of artwork that you sent me was for This Is Not a Pencil Box by Angie Spoto and I so excited to receive that email. Your interpretation was exactly right when you said that this is a story “full of boxes and breaking out of a box.” It’s also a story in which there’s no doubt about the colour and from the moment I read it I had a bright apple green in mind. More often than not in this process, I had some difficulty in making a choice, but on this occasion I had to go with was #4 – I knew it was the one straightaway. It has the perfect balance of green and black and the size and boldness of the playbox is just right. I very much liked the red detail, which for me, represents the frustration the boy experiences. He’s a dominant character so those white footprints are a great touch.

3. February 3, Blue-Lustred, by Adam Lock. I was a little puzzled by this story at first, because I did not understand the ending, not being familiar with the term “blue-lustred steak” (I don’t eat much steak and when I do, well, let’s say a steak really can’t be too well done for me…).

I looked up the term (steaks that are very rare in the middle and charred on the outside are called “blue” steaks). With this information, things fell into place. Initially I was thinking of blue luster glassware or a blue luster clay glaze, and without some research I would not have had the correct reference in my head.

I made two images. In each, I decided to depict the steak because to me it symbolized what the main character has become with his act of what has to be defined as revenge – surviving the fire, emerging hardened or stronger, changed on the outside but untouched inside. To me it meant that he was tapping into something he already had inside himself and was just discovering it.

I wanted to include the blue of the title and I also wanted to depict the look of the steak when it is cut into (black around the edges, red on the inside). The two images are similar. In order to emphasize the deep colors I planned to use, I first put a coat of black gesso on the paper. This technique gives a lot of body to all colors and creates a very different feel than starting with a white background.

The first image (Image 24) includes the rawness and edginess that the main character wanted to explain to the guy he was in the process of holding up, referencing his feeling about everything in life being more intense these days.

In the second one (Image 25), I put a division down the middle of the image showing that a line has been crossed inside the narrator.

Laura’s comments:

Blue-lustred is an interesting title that refers to underdone steak and it’s another example of a story that was guiding us towards a palette. Of the two options I chose image 25 and this remains among my favourite of the entire series of illustrations. That said, the two options are similar and I like them both. What did it for me, however, was that #25 contains a touch of purple that is reminiscent of raw steak. I think the white line gives the artwork a lift and I like the fact that the ‘steak’ area is less defined than in image 24.

 

4. Kiko, by Eduardo del Rio, February 4. This story is a reminiscence. The narrator relates the story of his uncle and his life in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Miami. The uncle’s larger-than-life personality permeates the story, though it is mixed with some sadness. Rather than focusing on specific elements, I saw this story as a mix of color and feeling, and so the two images I did were somewhat unfocused but suffused with color, the uncle’s personality had on his surroundings and family.

The first image (Image 14) follows that airy warm feeling, incorporating elements of sea and sun.

In the second image (Image 15) I was a bit more representational, wanting to create an island in an ocean with a sunshine beaming down, representing the uncle’s effect on others.

Laura’s comments:

Kiko by Eduardo del Rio is about the difficulties of adjusting to a new culture as an immigrant. It’s also about language. Kiko himself represents the Latino culture and so I was keen for bold colours to appear in the artwork and you achieved exactly that Claudia. You, in particular, were working to a tight schedule and I decided to make my decisions quickly throughout the process. Privately though, after I had chosen image 14, I kept going back and forth between the two choices. In the end I stuck with my original choice of #14 for these reasons: the main circle is a little more subdued than in #15 and for me this reflects the sadness in this story, and also the dignity of the voice.

 

And there you have it- the first four stories and their images. Thank you for reading.

Notes on the Project:

My practice with each story was to read it very carefully, making notes and small sketches about elements that sparked a visual image. Fictive Dream editor Laura Black also gave me her input for each story. All the artwork is non-representational as outlined in the specifications Laura had for the project. The paintings are about 11.5″ x 7.25″ each and are primarily acrylics on watercolor paper, although there is some collage work as well. I usually made a couple of images per story and Laura chose which one would be displayed with the story.

You may know that I am an artist as well as a writer of poetry, and that I have an art blog, Claudia McGill and Her Art World , in addition to this one. Recently I’ve completed a set of illustrations for a writing project, and I thought this blog might be a good place for me to talk about the literary aspects of this work.

What am I talking about? Well, I made a series of paintings to accompany 28 days of flash fiction at Fictive Dream, an online magazine devoted to the short story. The event is called Flash Fiction February and is going on right now, with a new flash fiction story each day.

Here on Claudia McGill Writes Poetry, Did You Know That?, I’m going to post a series through the month of February 2019, starting on February 5, in which I show the artwork and give a short bit of insight as to how I connected words and  image. It’s a process somewhat similar to things you have seen here, where I write poetry to accompany images I have made. (Think – Artist Sketchbooks…)

But this project is a little different. For one thing, I’m moving from words to image rather than the other way around. And…the words are not my own, so all I have to work with is the printed page – no side windows into the author’s thoughts, no information from any other source. Just the words on the printed page.

Doing these illustrations was a great experience and I am am very grateful to Fictive Dream editor Laura Black for her faith in my work and for her generosity in allowing me so much freedom to interpret and depict the stories. And I also want to thank each author for presenting me with their unique literary worlds to enter and to imagine as a visual version.

In conclusion, it’s my hope that in showing you these artworks along with my analysis and explanation of process I can illuminate both the story and the art for readers/viewers – and that the close alliance of art and word shows once again that there is more than one vocabulary to use in telling a story.

And, I hope that having read about the artwork, you will visit Fictive Dream and read the stories!

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If you want to know more about the artwork side of the project, my art blog is currently featuring the artworks I did plus some posts outlining the ins and outs of my illustration process.