No. 261: "Drawing Dark" (Lamentations 1:12)

DRAWING DARK by Tom Wills and Jeanne Starmack, August 2014

"Drawing Dark" (No. 261) is a true original, and also a collaborative effort between photographer, artist and writers.
The soon-to-be owner of this work, Jeanne, lives in western Pennsylvania and snapped a cell phone picture of this cross on a country road. She and I spoke off and on about this image for several months.

"I saw it on a walk last spring on a country road around Easter time, near my house. Those people put it out every Easter.  It does make a striking pose out there every year," she explains.

Original photo and blog notes

The sign bears an excerpt from Lamentations 1:12 (King James version):
Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger."
 

Jeanne wanted this drawing dark and overcast and did, in fact, choose its title.
"I need a name that reflects that angst, that torment, that sense of betrayal by fellow humans," she said. Really.
"I'll leave that to you. I'll just keep drawing dark," I replied.
"Perfect. Call the picture Drawing Dark," she responded.
Then I said: "That would actually work. Because it is getting dark in the sky. And it is dark. And the message is open to much interpretation. It's just so damned lonely looking."

To hear Jeanne explain it, the cross and sign, and the bare landscape coming out of winter, led her to find a deeper meaning in the image:  
"The road is a metaphor for life. The cross and the sign are a metaphor for all those people who have sorrows and insurmountable troubles in life. ... The cross and the sign equal the anguish and suffering of someone who has no one to care. He's reaching out to people in his life who are going about their business, not noticing him, for help. In the picture, they are the "You" in the question, "Is it nothing to you..."  

Grid method

The drawing is unique in that I used a grid method for drawing the trees and the field. The drawing, then, is a series of square sections blended together. This method helped me to keep track of the hills and valleys, tree lines and many nooks and crannies. 
I added a bit of extra shading to the cross in an effort to make it stand out from the bleak landscape.
The clouds are from a different exposure of the same photo, overcast and pressing down.

Unlike my friend Jeanne, I see some hope when I look at the finished drawing. I see an old rugged cross that continues to stand strong against the elements, every Easter. The sign is becoming weathered and the wood has gone dry and gray, yet it continues to speak to those who pass on the road. Perhaps it is meant to have several interpretations, all personal.

She wanted "Drawing Dark" framed. A big, dark frame.

By the way, Jeanne likes to challenge me.  Here's another one we put together a few years ago. Read about these dolls and another photo here:
 http://tomwillsproductions.blogspot.com/2012/09/no-166-toys-in-attic.html