As I explained in yesterday's post, I recently started a new series of colored pencil drawings. Each will be on 19x25" black Canson Mi-Teintes paper, and each will boast a large bouquet that fits a theme. For the first one in this six-drawing "Stronger Together" series, the theme is "race" and the idea is to symbolize multiple races of people successfully working together.
There are people who identify as white who might have a darker skin tone than people who identify as black, and if you were to look at just a swatch of someone's skin, and not any other identifying features, you would often be hard-pressed to decide with 100% certainty what race someone belonged to. More than just the pigment of someone's skin comes into play when people are categorized into different races - things like facial features, eye color, hair texture, and even verbal cues like names, accents, or language choice also factor in when we work to (consciously or unconsciously) pinpoint someone's heritage.
To further the confusion, broad categories like "white" actually encompass a wide variety of races - some of which may or may not still be seen as separate races to us in the United States today. Irish immigrants were once thought of as separate from other white Americans, at least in part because many of them were Catholic (as opposed to Protestant); for similar reasons, people of Jewish decent might also be considered "non-white." Many Middle-Eastern/North African immigrants self-identify as White, while others consider themselves Black, Asian, or as belonging to a separate Middle Eastern/Arabic race (which the U.S. census does not differentiate); Hispanics also might self-identify as belonging to any race, since Hispanic is considered an ethnicity rather than a race of its own.
Still, despite these "problems," I thought the only thing that made sense to represent different races in a quick, recognizable way was to go off differences in skin tone. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter to me whether someone looks at a light brown/tan colored flower and assumes the color represents someone white, someone black, or someone brown - my purpose was not to create one-to-one symbols (as I did in my "30 Days" and "28 Years" drawings), but to create one large symbol: the symbol of multiple skin tones working together, nestled side by side among each other, to create a single, large bouquet.
That said, I did initially pick flowers to go with certain racial groups - only to help me figure out how many flowers of each color I should include. I looked to U.S. census data for some guidance, because I wanted my bouquet to look more or less like a cross-section of the U.S. population. Of course, as mentioned above, the U.S. census in 2010 (the most recent year available) did not differentiate Hispanics or Middle Easterners as separate races, or release data on how those who answered the separate question about Hispanic ethnicity answered the question about race - so I was left to make some assumptions.
I wanted to be as accurate as possible, and as inclusive as possible, representing every race/skin tone that could be found in contemporary America. The limitations I faced in pursuing this goal were the aforementioned census data, the fact that I only drew 24 flower varieties in my "Race Bouquet" (each "Stronger Together" bouquet in this series will be made up of two dozen flower varieties), the colors I had available in my Prismacolor pencil collection, and the black paper I used as my surface, which prevented me from using some darker colors that wouldn't show up well on the black paper without being outlined a bit in a lighter color, or surrounded by lighter color flowers. Still, I think I did pretty well in choosing the colors and representing if not the entire spectrum of skin pigments possible, at least a wide range of them.
In choosing flowers, I tried to pick flowers that are actually available in "skin tone" colors. I also considered (though less so) the origin of the flowers (biologically/geographically) and the symbolic meaning of the flowers, trying to choose flowers with positive qualities whenever possible.
Here are the twenty-four varieties of flowers I ultimately decided on, along with their symbolic meanings:
I looked at the general shapes of the plants first. Was it a long, tall plant with flowers growing in a stalk? Were the flowers round or oval? Did the flowers hang down or hang out, and would therefore have to be along one of the sides of the bouquet? I decided the placement of the flowers based on the general shapes, trying to make a bouquet that was more or less symmetrical along a vertical axis.
Then I sketched a to-scale version of the bouquet on newsprint, lightly shading in the general color, and labeling them with the type of flower. I would use this sketch as a reference frequently as I worked on the drawing on black paper, to see which flower I should draw next, and what flowers were going to be drawn surrounding it.
Here is the finished preliminary sketch, next to the black paper I will start the drawing on.
For scale, you can see the neon pink yardstick on the right edge of the table. In the above picture, you can also see some of my pages of reference photos, showing pictures of the flowers I will be drawing, as well as my containers of Prismacolor pencils, which I keep separated into "warm" and "cool" colors.
Now that all my research and composition planning are complete, it's time to start drawing the final piece. My next blog post will show the first steps I took on the black paper.
There are people who identify as white who might have a darker skin tone than people who identify as black, and if you were to look at just a swatch of someone's skin, and not any other identifying features, you would often be hard-pressed to decide with 100% certainty what race someone belonged to. More than just the pigment of someone's skin comes into play when people are categorized into different races - things like facial features, eye color, hair texture, and even verbal cues like names, accents, or language choice also factor in when we work to (consciously or unconsciously) pinpoint someone's heritage.
To further the confusion, broad categories like "white" actually encompass a wide variety of races - some of which may or may not still be seen as separate races to us in the United States today. Irish immigrants were once thought of as separate from other white Americans, at least in part because many of them were Catholic (as opposed to Protestant); for similar reasons, people of Jewish decent might also be considered "non-white." Many Middle-Eastern/North African immigrants self-identify as White, while others consider themselves Black, Asian, or as belonging to a separate Middle Eastern/Arabic race (which the U.S. census does not differentiate); Hispanics also might self-identify as belonging to any race, since Hispanic is considered an ethnicity rather than a race of its own.
Still, despite these "problems," I thought the only thing that made sense to represent different races in a quick, recognizable way was to go off differences in skin tone. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter to me whether someone looks at a light brown/tan colored flower and assumes the color represents someone white, someone black, or someone brown - my purpose was not to create one-to-one symbols (as I did in my "30 Days" and "28 Years" drawings), but to create one large symbol: the symbol of multiple skin tones working together, nestled side by side among each other, to create a single, large bouquet.
That said, I did initially pick flowers to go with certain racial groups - only to help me figure out how many flowers of each color I should include. I looked to U.S. census data for some guidance, because I wanted my bouquet to look more or less like a cross-section of the U.S. population. Of course, as mentioned above, the U.S. census in 2010 (the most recent year available) did not differentiate Hispanics or Middle Easterners as separate races, or release data on how those who answered the separate question about Hispanic ethnicity answered the question about race - so I was left to make some assumptions.
I wanted to be as accurate as possible, and as inclusive as possible, representing every race/skin tone that could be found in contemporary America. The limitations I faced in pursuing this goal were the aforementioned census data, the fact that I only drew 24 flower varieties in my "Race Bouquet" (each "Stronger Together" bouquet in this series will be made up of two dozen flower varieties), the colors I had available in my Prismacolor pencil collection, and the black paper I used as my surface, which prevented me from using some darker colors that wouldn't show up well on the black paper without being outlined a bit in a lighter color, or surrounded by lighter color flowers. Still, I think I did pretty well in choosing the colors and representing if not the entire spectrum of skin pigments possible, at least a wide range of them.
In choosing flowers, I tried to pick flowers that are actually available in "skin tone" colors. I also considered (though less so) the origin of the flowers (biologically/geographically) and the symbolic meaning of the flowers, trying to choose flowers with positive qualities whenever possible.
Here are the twenty-four varieties of flowers I ultimately decided on, along with their symbolic meanings:
- amaranthus - hopelessness, hopeless love, compassion, sacrifice
- aster - enchanted, love, patience
- astilbe - "I will still be waiting for you," endurance
- brown rose - warmth, stability, romantic, manly
- carnation - fascination, distinction, love
- cattails - victory in mind, body and spirit
- cherry blossom - transience, good education, womanhood, love, wisdom, short lived beauty of youth
- chocolate sunflower - adoration, devotion, haughtiness, power, loyalty, strong bonds between friends, seeking positivity and strength, good luck, nourishing self and others
- chocolate ti leaf - strength, spiritual protection, healing, fertility
- chrysanthemum - cheerfulness, lasting friendship, support from friends and family, rest and recovery after a challenge, enduring life and rebirth, loyalty and devotion
- coneflower - strength and healing
- dahlia - graceful under pressure, inner strength, success, travel, positive life changes, uniqueness, kindness, balance, commitment
- freesia - thoughtfulness, innocence, trust, friendship, sweetness
- gerbera daisy - cheerfulness, joy, high esteem, admiration
- gladiolus - strength of character, remembrance, honor, faithfulness, conviction
- hibiscus - delicate beauty, fleeting fame, glory, femininity
- jasmine - sweet love, beauty, sensuality, purity, good luck, love and respect
- lotus - beauty, purity, spiritual awakening, faithfulness, rebirth, resurrection, death, the womb of the world, fertility, eternity, prosperity
- orchid - industry, enthusiasm, boldness, pride
- peony - bashfulness, shame, good marriage, good life, compassion, bringing honor to family, wealth and riches, romantic love, beauty
- protea - change, resourcefulness, daring, transformation, diversity, courage
- peruvian lily - friendship, devotion
- sempervivum ("hens and chicks") succulent - survival, always living
- tulips - enduring love, passion, royalty, abundance, prosperity, indulgence, charity
I looked at the general shapes of the plants first. Was it a long, tall plant with flowers growing in a stalk? Were the flowers round or oval? Did the flowers hang down or hang out, and would therefore have to be along one of the sides of the bouquet? I decided the placement of the flowers based on the general shapes, trying to make a bouquet that was more or less symmetrical along a vertical axis.
Then I sketched a to-scale version of the bouquet on newsprint, lightly shading in the general color, and labeling them with the type of flower. I would use this sketch as a reference frequently as I worked on the drawing on black paper, to see which flower I should draw next, and what flowers were going to be drawn surrounding it.
Here is the finished preliminary sketch, next to the black paper I will start the drawing on.
For scale, you can see the neon pink yardstick on the right edge of the table. In the above picture, you can also see some of my pages of reference photos, showing pictures of the flowers I will be drawing, as well as my containers of Prismacolor pencils, which I keep separated into "warm" and "cool" colors.
Now that all my research and composition planning are complete, it's time to start drawing the final piece. My next blog post will show the first steps I took on the black paper.
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