Sketchbook 2022 Page 8

I feel like I've been drawing a lot of characters with knives as of recent. I think I subconsciously enjoy posing cute looking characters with dangerous weapons. The juxtaposition of cute and dangerous is attention grabbing, at least to me, because it makes you feel like you are being invited to approach a sensitive subject. Imagine seeing a tiny baby holding a knife. Most people would not hesitate to approach it and take the knife away from the baby, knowing that the knife poses as a threat to the unsuspecting toddler. In the case of these weapon wielding characters, they are not babies, and what they are capable of is most probably violence towards others, or even themselves. I think the appearance of being approachable doesn't hide the fact that you can still pose a threat to anyone, even yourself. This conflict between our natural senses of being attracted to form, and our fear of danger creates an interesting dynamic of our senses being pushed and pulled.