Millstone Figures II

Pastel on Paper - 50 x 70 cm
 
I began this series of drawings during the second lockdown of 2020. The goal of the series was to express some of my emotions that I've felt over the course of the pandemic.

One of the challenges for this series was that I had a very limited access to models due to the lockdown. As a result, it was necessary to use myself to model the figures, but this became a source of inspiration, and led to me basing the series off of my own feelings from this year.

The series looks primarily at anxiety, but this drawing in particular focuses on feelings of judgement, helplessness and isolation. Judgement from people with differing opinions, helplessness due to being unable to protect vulnerable family members, and isolation which I've felt for most of my life, but has been reinforced this year.

The drawing was created using a range of black and white pastels, on PastelMat paper. I choose to draw in greytone to emphasise the values, creating dramatic lighting and a deep atmosphere. The resulting image is realistic, yet expressive.