September, 2024

I made this piece in 2024 at the very beginning of my time at Sint Joost Illustrated and Animated storytelling. We were tasked to pick between a few short stories and then portray a scene from it. I chose The Way up to Heaven by Roald Dahl. The main character Mrs. Foster, who has a fear of being late, is often tormented by her husband who purposely takes longer to get ready. When Mrs. Foster is almost late for her flight, Mr. foster says he needs to get something from his study. After waiting in the car she comes to the door to get him, but a strange noise stops her. Its the sound of the elevator getting stuck between floors. A thought occurs to her. Instead of going in to help him, she leaves for the airport and spends a vacation with her daughter in France. I wanted to show the moment she enters the house after coming back. I especially wanted to highlight the contrast between them, so I made everything having to do with her in oranges and reds and everything about him in cool tones of green and blue. Mrs. Foster is very warm, kind, bright and… alive. While Mr. Foster is cold, stubborn, spiteful and now dead. I also included the vase as a metaphor of their relationship. Its red to show its “her” plant, but without her there to take care of it, the plant dies. Mr. Foster knowingly neglects their marriage, because he is so used to Mrs. Foster holding it together.

This piece was made entirely on Procreate!