The Swamp's Dark Centre

Over the years, I have done works, of various kinds for different art classes, but I firmly believe that none of them can ever reach the scope or scale of the final project I am making for my final semester. In the project, I plan to make a project that has a gothic atmosphere, and takes elements from the gothic genre as a whole. For me, the gothic genre and atmosphere represents a style of art that is timeless, that is comprised of motifs borrowed from the rugged, ancient craft of medieval architecture, and adds a sense of wonder and mystery to them. It does this by incorporating nature into the architecture, such as vines encroaching onto the side of a castle wall, which gives it a more organic, archaic look. The motif I have always commonly associated with the gothic style, would be graveyards. They contain old, manmade structures with the style of medieval architecture, and are surrounded by nature, such as vines, foliage, animals, as well as rain or fog, which creates an almost paranormal feeling in the way that I view it. I always have had an interest in ancient architecture, as well as nature, and this project will allow me to present this motif, as well as what it means to me. The project will be a series of detailed sketches, that are accompanied by a short story.

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Throughout my life so far, no creature has ever captivated me more than the crocodile. Whether it be their draconic or almost saurian appearance, or their shiny, jewel-like eyes, they are my favourite animal, and have inspired my various drawings of creatures, extinct and imaginary. To me, crocodiles have always looked like an ancient statue from centuries ago. They have cracked and withered skin, not to dissimilar to that of an ancient building or structure that has been deteriorating for quite some time. Couple that with the fact that their skin has a colour similar to vegetation, such as vines or grass, and they give off the appearance of an old tombstone, being surrounded by nature, that is withering away with time. This view of the crocodile and its appearance is very similar to my view on the gothic atmosphere, which is why I will incorporate the creature and the style into my sketches and short story.

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In regard to what my short story will be about, the summary is as follows: In 1998, Jonathan Freeman and his young brother Matthew are playing basketball in their parents backyard one day, and decide to venture out into the swamp to play. They split up, and after a while Jonathan tries to find his brother, but finds out he is gone. Jonathan is terrified for his brother, but is scared out of the swamp by a hideous, ghostly cackle. His disappearance is a mystery, and years later, Jonathan finds out that his brother has been kidnapped by a witch, who has the same laugh as the one Jonathan heard all those years ago, which he discovered from a website that details urban legends and myths in Florida. Now an adult, Jonathan goes back to the swamp near his childhood home, armed for the rescue, as he believes that his brother is still alive. He is proven right when he reaches the home of the witch, an ancient castle hidden in the swamp. He finds his brother is being transformed into a monstrous, mystical alligator by the witch, who plns to use his brother’s new form to steal more children to make an army of ghostly creatures, to take over the world. After a brief fight against Matthew in his alligator form, Jonathan manages to reach his brother inside the heart of the beast, and breaks the spell, but not before Matthew destroys the castle and eliminates the witch. Now with the curse lifted off his brother, Jonathan and Matthew reunite after years being apart, and walk away from the ruins of the castle to play basketball with each other.

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To create these sketches and paintings, I will primarily use dark and cool colours to bring the gothic atmosphere and background in my works to life. I will focus on using materials such as graphite, charcoal, black paint, and cool colour paints and pencils, in long thick strokes, to truly make the darker elements of my works really show. I will also incorporate white paint and colour pencils to create a mesmerising, mystical fog that will serve as either the background for the pieces, or as a dynamic feature in the environment. As for the influences for this project, I have been influenced by the environment and architecture seen in graveyards, such as those seen on Mont Royal, that have been overtaken by nature and vegetation. The story takes influence from ghost stories like Goosebumps, which often have a supernatural element in the narrative, such as kids becoming possessed by ghosts or demons, and being transformed into destructive monsters.

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I am making this project because I believe that it will allow me to do something that I have not done in a long while: writing stories suing my personal inspirations. I am also making this project because I truly believe that it will allow me to embrace my creative side, and create something special with the possible ideas that I have at my disposal.