The Story Behind Why I Created It:

I call this piece ‘Doorway to Another Dimension’, and I was inspired to create it based off a photograph an old friend took of my cousins and I exploring an abandoned house that sat on a lake in the neighborhood which I grew up.

The Inspiration Factor:

The idea for this piece came to me as I reflected on the memories I made with my cousins through the years. They grew up about 3 1/2 hours away from me so as a result we didn’t see each other a lot as kids but once we became teenagers (and were able to drive) we took one weekend out of the summer each year and visited each other. I got to know my cousins very well during that time (shouldn’t everyone?) they were the closest cousins I had in age (technically they were second cousins but cousins are cousins, right?).

I digress…anyway, I had been looking at photographs and sketching on my favorite drawing app, ‘MyBrushes’ after a particularly rough sophomore semester at college back in 2009. This was a pretty dark time, I sketched a lot to get me though all the statistics, college algebra 1 & 2, and I’m awful at math (in case that wasn’t clear). Originally the sketch was supposed to be in black and white however I decided to add a splash of color to allude to the fact that walking into this house felt like walking into another dimension. In fact, I always had such an odd, forbidding feeling something dark was watching me from one of the windows when I’d sit lakeside to reflect. My cousins coming with me, exploring this rather ominous house is (despite how freaked out we all ended up being) one of my favorite memories.

The colors I used were burgundy which symbolizes trail blazing and unconscious beauty (the house was stunning despite it’s dark, desolate air about it). The blue-black represents a calm (relief that my cousins are with me) sense of mystery which the house gives off.

The texture of the strokes, you may notice, is very dodgy and thick. This alludes to the uncertainty and excitement we felt by being somewhere we weren’t sure we were entirely welcome.

The people in the sketch are obviously, my cousins Kathleen and Shannon and I (the short blonde). It is based off of a photograph I have on a CD somewhere in my chaotic closet.

Overall this piece is one of my favorites to create because it symbolizes family, despite long distances sticking together and a haunted mystery.

It took me about eight whole hours to complete from draft to finished product and I plan on ordering a copy on canvas to hang in my guest room so that my cousins can see it whenever they stay over.

Love you. Mean it.

Brittany

Xoxo