Art for saki101 A Day in the Life, PG

[tweedisgood.livejournal.com]

Title: A Day in the Life; or, Watson, the Unreliable Narrator
Recipient: saki101
Artist: [redacted]
Rating: PG

Notes: Compressed charcoal. Many thanks to my very patient, pseudonym-less beta, and to [redacted] for helpful comments. For those who wonder what a palimpsest is (I didn't know, at least) it's a manuscript where the original text has been erased and then written over.

Captions are actual citations, from NORW, GOLD and YELL.

Saki, you mentioned wanting art, and stories weaving in different artistic aspects, and that's what inspired this. I hope you like it!

Comments

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

These are great interpretations of Watson the unreliable narrator. I particularly like his expression in the second drawing.

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Lovely to hear that, thanks!

[saki101.livejournal.com]

Oh, I adore these! What a brilliant theme! I can just picture Watson's expressions as he thought up his obfuscations and recalled the actual circumstances to which they alluded.

Each one has its charm, the casual comfort of the body language in the first, the happy expressions and mutual focus in the second and in the third, I love the candle shining bright over the rest they can share. Ah, there would be no turning away at the end of the day!

Thank you so very much for these beautiful drawings! They suit the prompts perfectly! :-D

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Aw, great! I'm very glad you liked this. Watson's expressions as he thought up his obfuscations - yes, Watson the unreliable narrator can be a pretty fun thing to play with *g* Thanks for your lovely comment, and for the prompt that triggered the whole idea!

[saki101.livejournal.com]

You are most welcome. It is such a tender series of drawings.

(I notice a lovely similarity in our icons, too! :-D)

[swissmarg]

What a wonderful idea, and beautifully done. I love the lighting in the last one. For some reason, the middle one strikes me as the most poignant, though, as it's not just a slight twisting of the truth but a blatant obfuscation that Watson writes, whereas they are clearly so engaged with each other. It's as if even something as innocent as enjoying each other's company for conversation would be suspect.

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was particular pleased to read what you said about the middle one -- at first I thought it would be just too far from the truth... then I thought that sadly, a man in Watson's position would probably feel he could never be too careful or too circumspect.

[winryweiss.livejournal.com]

Ah, these are lovely. ^w^
Especially their expressions in the second part. And the third ... oh my, I do not have enough words for the overall mood of it. Wondrous.

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you! It was lovely to hear that.

[hardboiledbaby]

You've illustrated the casual moments of intimacy in their daily lives so sweetly, thank you!

[garonne.livejournal.com]

And thank you for commenting! Lovely to hear you liked it.

[opaljade.livejournal.com]

Nicely illustrated… and so very clever as well!

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Thanks! *g*

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

The gap between text and truth is fabulous here. I love that implication, that there is so much that we need to doubt and read between the lines for in Watson's stories. The art is sweetly drawn, and I especially care for the comfort in the first, as Holmes and Watson recline together to read. It's so warm and lovely, I want to snuggle up with them too.

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I've always loved playing with that idea, that the gap between the public and private versions of their stories is enormous. It was fun to do it via a different medium this time.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

A charming look at the private life behind the public stories - it's lovely how happy and comfortable they seem together. I wonder if "palimpsest" and "treatise on surgery" is Watson's little joke. "Palimpsest": Watson hides their real life by writing a new version on top of the truth, and "surgery": in the stories, he cuts away the bits of their life that he can't share with the public.

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Thank you, and thanks again for 'beta-reading' too! I love your play on words -- I never thought of it myself, but it's perfect here.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

You're welcome about the beta-viewing ^_^ You may remember that I worried a bit at the time that I was missing a play on words? ^^" Then when you gave the definition of "palimpsest" here, it suddenly popped into my head what it might be ^^

[spacefall.livejournal.com]

Very nice indeed :)

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[methylviolet10b]

I love all three of these, but I particularly admire your use of light and shadow in the third. Lovely work!

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I was glad to hear it!

[fictionforlife.livejournal.com]

Wow I love the concept behind the artworks, and who can refuse some H/W domesticity :) Very well done!

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm glad you like it.

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

These are adorable. Well done!

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you!

[tripleransom.livejournal.com]

Really lovely little moments!

[garonne.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked them!

[stellinia.livejournal.com]

This is adorable. The picture coupled with the excerpt from the book is a really nice touch. Nice job :)

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Lovely to hear you like them.

[jcporter1.livejournal.com]

How sweet. Watson has quite the imagination to dream up such detailed obfuscations. I love how they are turned to each other, in late night pillow talk.

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I was glad to hear you liked this!

[shadowycat.livejournal.com]

What a great way to reinterpret the text! A very lovely set of drawings. :D

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Well, I always think reinterpretation of the text is the most enjoyable part of reading the Holmes stories *g* I'm glad you liked these.

[inamac.livejournal.com]

What a clever idea. I'm particularly enamoured of the last one. Very evocative use of light and shade.

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I very much enjoyed drawing the lighting on that one - glad to hear it worked.

[mistyzeo.livejournal.com]

Sweet! Lovely illustrations of unreliable moments.

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Glad to hear it.

[vernets.livejournal.com]

This is such a sweet set of pictures, what a nice idea! You've done the quotes justice, I much prefer your version of the events.

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you! I must say, I think Watson must prefer this version of events too :)

[fleetwood-mouse.livejournal.com]

You've managed to evoke such a rich atmosphere of warmth and affection. I absolutely love these.

[garonne.livejournal.com]

Thank you. What a lovely thing to hear!