I took the liberty of editing this further, using the tools I’ve shared before, to give us a better look (and to do it justice):
And my suggestion to raise your viewpoint (see comment).
This also brings to mind this scene from “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” (from when your parents were your age). That’s a kid in a bowl of Cherrios.
There were some difficult circumstances in my family this week, so I apologize for the lateness. I also felt rushed finishing this drawing. I really did not know what to draw, but I settled on this. I have been doing a lot of house work and I had no idea one family produces so many dishes and laundry! So I decided to take kind of a humorous angle on it and put myself (or a small version of myself) drowning in a sink full of dishes. I also liked the idea of playing with scale, so the larger than life sponge, soap, paper towels, and toilet paper (also very relevant) really exacerbated that inverted scale for me. This was difficult for me to finish, mostly because my mind was elsewhere and I wanted to finish it as close to the due date as possible, but I got into it once I started. I like playing with scale and it was more fun than I thought it would be to place myself in the drawing.
Hi Hannah. I can definitely relate to the feeling of drowning in chores as I am one of six in my household. I love the creative and and whimsical lens you took, and I think it brings some humor into this dark and sad time. If I could make any suggestions, I would say that I think the line weight could be better distributed throughout the piece. The sink could be made a little bit darker to really get a better sense of the depth. Also this is just a stylistic choice, and I know you were playing around with scale in this piece, but I personally would have made the sink closer in scale to the paper towel and toilet paper rolls because I think the sink is really the heart of the piece and with the set up now it feels like it is being dwarfed by what is behind it (but if your goal for the piece was to achieve that feeling then I would leave it as is.) Overall, I really enjoyed your approach to this assignment.
Hi Hannah,
My apologies for taking so long to get back to you, and sorry too that that week was a rough one for you. I trust things have gotten better.
I can’t tell you how readily I identified with this image the moment I saw it. I’m usually the one to do the dishes, but with all of us at home all day the volume and turnover are definitely at an all time high. I’m constantly asking myself “Didn’t I just wash this?” And, of course, I did.
Despite the dire circumstances of the woman in the dishwater (you), this also keeps its sense of humor, especially through your conscious use of disparate scales. My only suggestion in that regard is that the visible portions of the dishes could be larger, both in relation to the sink but especially to make it a more daunting space for you to be treading water in as well.
I’m impressed at how much you got done and how far you got with this, under the circumstances. It’s an ambitious and complex scheme—especially drawing a head at that angle—nicely done. I might only suggest that the upraised arm is too far from your body (unless someone else is drowning in there with you), and the other hand on the edge of the sink is unnecessary, and undermines the sense of peril—or maybe you wanted that.
Another possibility would be to raise our eye level so that we’re looking down into the sink. This would make your plight even scarier (that bit of vertigo) but also give the action a greater percentage of the drawing. That counter edge is also a barrier to the action—better to put your viewer right into it (i.e., over it).
Good work–
I think you did a really good job of balancing humor and fright in this drawing. I definitely know what you mean about housework piling up and constantly feeling like you’re cleaning. I really like how you played with the scale here and the added detail of the light bubbles adds strengths to the piece. I think you could have indicated a bit more contrast by strengthening the lines of your surroundings, especially the sink. Though of course I get that this piece came out of a time in which you perhaps didn’t have time for those considerations. Overall, I really like the emotion you captured in this drawing and think you did an excellent job.
I hope this week wasn’t as rough.