"True love waits ...In haunted attics" - The beginning and the end of an era

I remember vividly when I first made the illustration I named: "True love waits", as a reference to the Radiohead song by the same name. In it Thom Yorke sings:

"...And true love waits in haunted attics, and true love leaves on lollipops and crisps..."

I was in second year of my 3D animation career here in Guatemala. It was around four or five months before that I found a profound interest for Radiohead lyrics and music. Thus one morning after hearing this song for the one hundredth time I thought how cute and interesting the feeling of childish love the aforementioned  part of the lyrics had. The song itself has an overall sad tone, but this specific part made a small spark on my still developing "art brain". I took it upon myself to create this scene I had created in my head while hearing the beautiful 12 string guitar from the live performance of the song (which at the time was the only version of the song available). My interpretation of that part of the lyrics was this:

The song in question...

To fall in love, it requieres a certain type of courage to be had. Courage to make decisions that is. Whenever you are engaged on a relationship, may it be with friends, family or a love interest; this person will change your life, and you will change their's too. I guess this is the reason why for some people, like me, meeting others is hard. It is easy to fear the changes that involve meeting new people. "...True love waits in haunted attics...", True love will be found on the dangerous places, that is why you must be brave enough to face the fears that doesn't allow you to face this dangers, talk to this people. etc. "...True love leaves on lollipops and crisps..." Love is a complex thing, for anyone that has experienced it. Yorke expresses his desire for it to be as simple as childish games and that with this childish mentality perhaps this love he speaks of can survive. In reality a relationship with a loved one means going trough both good and bad, it is trough both of them that you learn and grow together. Representing this part was easy for me. At the same time, when I first heard the song, i was in a state of creation and experimentation, feeling like the start of something new and exciting for me. Because of this, any time I heard the song, i keep in mind those feelings I had back in the days.
It was with that in mind that I made the next illustration:

"True Love Waits" from 2015

I figured this: "A frightened kid is too scared to face the scary noises of the (for him) dangerous attic. But once he arms himself with courage, and confront his fears, he founds a new friend for life"...Isn't this a lovely feeling? Isn't this what love is all about?

After 3 years, many things changed in m life, many experiences took place. So much so that my whole perspective in art changed, and with it, my technical experience as well. It's  always interesting to see how much can someone improve in a skill in just one year. It is truth what, some time before all of this, I had red in a blog one day "Talent is a lie..." for anyone can become good in anything, it just takes time, and patience... A lot of patience.

Sketch of the new illustration

This year signifies the culmination of many things for me, and mark the start of many others. Perhaps most importantly is finishing my degree in art. Only the people present knows just how much we suffered, rejoice, cried and laugh in these years. And just like wind vanishes the dust, so has it this "chapter of the book", opening new expectations for the one that follows. Trough out this 5 years, art found it's way into the nooks and crannies of my hearth, leaving a seed behind and letting it grow, feeding itself with the feelings and emotions experienced in life. The fruits of it, in my opinion, are the ones that now i can see reflected in my art. It is curious, how now at the end of my school years my old drawing tablet broke, the one I had since i started college. And now "R." gives me a new one (I sincerely cannot start thanking you and your family enough my dear), it couldn't have happened in a better moment as well, just in time to finish this piece which I dedicate this, my first post.

The background before adding the characters

As for the new illustration, thematically it remains the same. The only major change I decided to do was making the girl a ghost. I figured there needed to be a real threat, so to speak, for the boy to face. The meaning how ever remains the same. It's time to walk up the attic and face the ghost. Face what comes next in life. I decided to name the new piece" "...In haunted attics". It seems fitting giving the source and meaning behind it.
I can say that i am happy with the end result. It truly means for me the end of that evolutive and experimental artistic era.

There are many things I want to do next, now that i am free from the institutional shackles of university. Please don't misunderstand, studying is a big part of art, and any artist should always keep the practice of curiosity and investigation active on their career. But now that the routine and stress of university has left, the time has come to start walking in the road I have set for myself.

It's funny thinking back on it now, when I first made the illustration,  I wouldn't have imagined the importance of this piece. As I said before, when i heard the song I talked about, it signified the start of new things, it since has becomes the end of this old era.

Now... Time to start a new one...

"...In Haunted attics"

- Adrian D. 2018