Nightmare I

Work No. 0901; 210mm x 148mm, pencils on paper

Recurring Nightmare

Inspired by a recurring nightmare I have where I can't move or make a sound. In the original dream there are no tentacles, instead I am simply paralysed. I try to call for help only to find that I am unable to make a noise. After the initial panic I realise I am dreaming and set about trying to will myself awake.

Eventually I wake myself and try to get out of bed. Sometimes I do but something seems wrong. There's no noise – I'm still asleep! Once again I set about trying to somehow wake myself: perhaps by willpower, perhaps by hitting a wall. Finally I am awake, or am I?

This can continue for several iterations. When I do finally awake I am drenched in cold sweat, gasping for breath and sometimes lashing out. It can be rather frightening, both for myself and my girlfriend

A different look

I added the tentacles for that Lovecraftian feel. The method of working is an attempt to move away from my normal way of producing images which tend to look very 'straight' with well defined outlines. I tore at the background with an eraser to produce streaks. I refused to define any hard edges in most of the picture, except for the tentacles. I thought the jet black tentacles on top of the rest of the pale image would produce an exciting contrast.