This piece is in response to watching a video of Medea being acted out. I allowed myself to tune in to key phrases or exchanges that stayed with me. The nurse is trying to reason with Medea and is asking ‘What does it make you?’ Medea answers, ‘What I am, defeated’ That word seemed to say it all. She does not stay so though, and propels herself forward into her scheme of revenge which plays itself inexorably out.

This is a drawing I made on Monday of a key point in the Medea story. I have challenged myself to make a drawing or drawings every week until the summer in response to Book 7 of Ovid’s ‘Metamorphosis’. It seems that Medea’s outrage at Jason’s betrayal and in particular his betrayal of the sacred oath they made to each other hurt her the most, and the realisation of this fuelled her hatred and need for revenge which overrode even her love for her children. Chanelling this feeling of anger and rage resulted in this drawing. It made itself in my mind’s eye before any actual marks were made, I’m just manifesing what is already there. I was quite afraid of making such dark drawings, but going towards that has resulted in the opposite for myself coming out the other side. The softness of heartfelt real love that accepts someone just as they are. To really love someone they need to feel free even within the relationship.

Here’s the final drawing with more tone and colour laid down, signed and dated.

Here more colour has been laid down, and I’m deciding whether to leave the background white or to add some dark marks with the pencil to accentuate the dome shape.

More colour is being laid down now and tone with the pencil.

Here’s the Hosta drawing with the first layer of colour added using soft pastel pencil. I use the sketch and memory and let the drawing talk back to me, no photographs.

Here’s the initial stage of the large Hosta drawing that I made from the sketch I have shared on this blog. I’m just mapping out the shape of the Hosta dome and some of the main tones in soft pencil.

I’m showing you this drawing that I made last Saturday in a garden at Grassington, Yorkshire, England just to show that I haven’t abandoned my beloved nature whilst exploring the Medea theme. I wasn’t tempted by the wonderful ‘views’ at the spot, but chose this little hosta patch in the corner of the garden. The leaves wobbled in the breeze and some had holes and were a bit tatty. This interested me though, they were still beautiful and all connected to the same roots and plant. A bit like us really! The plant made a wonderful dome shape. I’ll share a photo of it next.

Hello everyone, have just posted the new drawing in the Medea series that I made this Monday. I’m still exploring the motivation behind Medea’s terrible revenge. Have been looking and listening to various musicians and singers responses to doomed love. Janis Joplin’s song ‘Ball and Chain’ which she performed at the Monteray Music Festival really resonated. Janis did not turn her longing outwards into revenge, but really ended up destroying herself. She’s given us some really powerful work. The quote on the drawing is from the song. Like in the ‘Hurts so good’ quote on my previous drawing, it articulates the bewilderment at this sense of betrayal, and an honest if simplistic take on the situation.