A Wallpaper

[galathea]

So, I usually wait until I have at least two wallpapers to show for, but I haven't been able to art for nearly two months and people asked me for new art, so I'll make an exception today. My current hectic RL situation will be be over in about 4 weeks and then I'll hopefully be able to make art on a more regular basis again. :) Thanks for all the impatient requests for new art, it's always very humbling for me to know that there are people who look forward to it! ♥

I also changed my LJ layout again and I used a fanmade custom layout this time. I loved my old layout, but I always ran into trouble with space if a comment discussion entailed more than 3-4 comments, so I was looking for a suitable alternative anyway.



Suidice Note: This wallpaper is an episodic piece from I Know What You Did Last Summer and deals with Sam's self-destructive course after Dean's death. After the episode I instantly thought of Johnette Napolitano's song 'Suicide Note' and knew I had to use it for a piece about Sam. I wanted the images to strongly resonate with the lyrics, hence the prominent placement of the broken bottle at the top, alluding to Sam's desperate attempt to numb his grief with alcohol. I visualised the 'that grenade you cuddle' line from the lyrics with drunken Sam looking at a gun in his hand, contemplating to end it all with one quick pull of the trigger. The deep red in the piece resonates with 'bloody', which is how Sam's life would have ended eventually. Originally I wanted the red to be accompanied by blue, to have a mix of cold and warm, but in the end the green worked better for some reason, so there's no particular significance to the use of that colour.

This piece actually didn't turn out at all as I planned it. The caps I initially wanted to use, because they communicated Sam's desperation best, were either too low in quality or very dark and didn't respond well to lighting techniques, so I had to work around that by either choosing different caps or heavy manipulation of the images. I think it came out well, but overall it doesn't quite pack the emotional punch I wanted it to have. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. :)

Suicide Note

1024x768 | 1280x800

You all know the drill, no posting elsewhere and no pretending it's your own. Just for private desktop use! *g* Resources as usual over at Salt'n Burn!

Comments

[karenmiller.livejournal.com]

It's gorgeous. But may I be a pain and point out that it's grEnade, not grAnade?

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Argh, thank you! I copied the line directly from a lyrics site. My bad I didn't look at it closely. LOL I'll change it as soon as I am at home. Glad you like it!

[karenmiller.livejournal.com]

You were too busy making with the pretty. *g*

[ramoniciu.livejournal.com]

It´s so amazing again, i love your story behind your art. And during this episode i had to think too about Sam and suicide and hoped they would go there and show us an attempt or something. The broken bottle, the red color, the composition, and the pic with Sam and the gun in his hand...everything is perfect.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I think the show did a good job in portraying Sam as suicidal and self-destructive and I decided on a manip nonetheless, because I wanted to match that specific line from the lyrics. I am glad you think it works well. :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Hey, there's that new wall you were telling us about. Yay for you arting again!

It's very beautiful and angsty. Poor sad Sam. :(

You need to go make a young boys wall now from 4.13...*G*

Ooh, and I love the new layout. Especially if it doesn't lose the comments off to one side. The banner is so simple and pretty. *loves*

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Thanks, hon! *hugs* Ha, actually a wee!chester wall is next on my to do list. How did you know? Oh, right, that brain again! LOL

Yeah, I am really happy with this layout so far! Man, that comment thing was annoying. LOL

[fotw-sv.livejournal.com]

Wow another fantastic piece of art! Bravo!

Oh don't ya hate when you copy and paste other peeps typos? I always do that!...lol...I get so wrapped up in the art that I screw up the text.

Your composition is perfect and I just love the coloring throughout including the use of sepia in the upper right. The theme of this is tugging at my heart. Very powerful piece and amazing work as always and an inspiration. Thanks for sharing! *Snags*

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

ROFL for a moment I was all 'huh, when did I make this comment' when I saw your icon. *g*

Man, I hate if that happens. Since I am not a native speaker, I always try to double check spelling of words that I am not entirely familiar with. I was just lazy here, so that served me right.

Thank you for your enthusiastic feedback, again! *hugs* I am happy with the colouring as well, it's not a combo I use often, so I was surprised at the outcome myself. The boys grieving for each other is always a moving theme to work in art, I am glad you think the piece did the emotion justice. :)

[ladymanson.livejournal.com]

This is great. It wall really captures the mood of Sam in the episode and the lyrics you chose worked very well. LOVE THE SONG! I also really like the colors you chose, especially the partial red. Nice work! :-)

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :) I love that song as well and I wanted to use it in a wallpaper for a long time. When Sam's scenes came along I finally had the chance. :D

[shawn-anne.livejournal.com]

Oh, amen, there's ART!

One word to describe it: WIN! *loves* Reminds me of a fic I once wrote too *grins*

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Ari! :) ROFL lately my art seems to remember you of fics of yours a lot. Hm, I wonder how that happens.

[bowtrunckle.livejournal.com]

Beautiful work. It's nicely balanced; I like how you've arranged it so the eye travels around the image.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Glad you like it. I always try to compose a piece in a way that allows the viewer to follow the flow, so to speak, and capture the 'story' in a wall easily. Always happy if it works out. :)

[nikkimisplaced.livejournal.com]

I love your new art honey *hugs* really looking forward to seeing more from you in a month! I will be nagging too ;) :)

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Hey there hon! *hugs* Thank you! Glad you like it. LOL Well, after this week's episode we'll also have a SN hiatus till March, so I can actually spend my next weekends with art too, instead of spending my time on writing reviews. Nagging is okay though, I am a bit rusty anyway. *g*

[tuesdaymelodies.livejournal.com]

*once she manages to get up off the floor and pick her jaw up....*
CHRIS MADE ART!!!!! *bounces with excitement!*
I love how you art such deep concepts and made it look so SIMPLE!
Gah, poor Sammy. I think you got his broken state across really well, even if you didn't get to use the caps you wanted, I think it all worked out for it to be the best piece in the end.
The lyrics fit really well. I love those wallpaper ideas you get when you hear a song and the scene just snaps in your head. I think those always turn out the best.

And the new layout looks great! I loved your old layout as well, but I understand the need for space.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Deavon! Heh, I guess people already wrote me off, but I always come back. *g* Glad you like the piece and that you think it works. You know how it is, sometimes you have something particular in mind and when it turns out differently, it just doesn't match your imagination. Doesn't make the piece bad, just needs some getting used to. LOL

I don't have it very often that I know beforehand what song I want to use, so I was especially happy with this one. Really helped with building the piece up. :)

[francy-m79.livejournal.com]

Beautiful wall!! Love the use of stocks and lighting the most!! <3 There's a positive side in the fact that you don't get to art much..makes every new Chris art the more special! :)

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Francy! LOL That's definitely an optimistic way to see it. *g* Maybe I should deliberately art less. Heh

[helpspb.livejournal.com]

hey Chris:) Wow. I totally love this wall. You always prove how talented you are.<3 This scene and episode is one of my favorites in s4,so you made me happy with this wall.Hope to see something from you more often*hugs* And great layout,btw;)

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Hey Helen! I am very glad you like the wall! There's something about Sam or Dean grieving for the other that makes it hard to NOT art it. It doesn't get more emotional than that I guess. :)

Heh, yeah with the hiatus I may be able to art more at weekends, because mostly they are eaten away by writing my review if the show is on air. :)

[(Anonymous)]

Once more I can't let anything on your website so... it's a tag.

OH! It has been updated! 'Suicide' is beautiful, your use of stock is great (this orange colour is wow!), and i'm absolutely in love with "crisis", it's amazing, the colours, the shapes, the softness, the spark, the words... It's astonishing !

V. http://obsessive-melancholy.servhome.org

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Hey there. :) My tagboard is screened at the moment because of massive spam attacks. The tags go into a special filter and then I'll add the serious entries manually. I am sorry for your inconveniences.

Anyway, thank you so much. I am glad you like the pieces so much. 'Crisis' is one of my fav walls as well. :)