This Far Into the Light

Ah, you want me to draw more of the dark crow?

Yes, please, that’s it, exactly.

Last week, I’d made multiples of a crow in a relatively “light” pose — walking with a warm, enveloping gesture. They seemed very different birds from the dark crow of the week prior. 

These birds prompted the request for the return of the beautiful, powerful, and dark one.

The dark bird takes joyful flight, too!  

He insisted.

OK, I'll do it, but there are limits.

I had one monoprint of a bird in an enveloping pose on my drawing board — a leftover from last week’s pictures.

It didn’t exactly scream “powerful dark crow.”

Opposite Origins:

The dark bird began as a dark-field monotype, a printing method in which a plate is fully inked, and the image is created by removing ink to reveal the light.  In the final image, the crow is aggressive—some might say angry—and remains enveloped in dark intensity.

Today’s dark bird would begin as a light-field monotype, where the image is painted onto the empty plate—additive on a light background.  For the final image, what would this powerful, dark beauty be doing this far into the light? He wouldn't be aggressive. So his wings would be spread more like he’s protecting something.  He’d be focused, resolved . . . tender even.

OK, let’s see what all this might look like.  I grabbed some tracing paper.

I started at the head.  He’d be more defined.  

Where are you, dark bird?

Then, the pose.  He’d be more significant and have both wings in play. 

Yes, the dark bird would be all in.

In the final step, I put the drawing over the tracing paper, all on the lightbox.  I could barely make out the adjustments I’d made on the tracing paper beneath.

Then, with compressed charcoal, I drew.

A Closer Look:

Looking for emotional resonance. Not too rendered. Not too graphic.