Unmasked

…is the name of today’s story on Fictive Dream.

Throughout the month of February 2021 I will be showing you illustrations I did for Flash Fiction February 2021 at Fictive Dream, an online short-story magazine. For more information about FFF21 and my artwork process, look here.

Here’s the image editor Laura Black chose for this story, Unmasked, by Sandra Arnold.

And here is the artwork with the banner. Take a look at this image. And then…

Read the story at Fictive Dream.

5 thoughts on “Unmasked”

  1. Laura Black

    I chose this particular illustration for Unmasked by Sandra Arnold because, for me at least, the beautiful stripe of pink represents the sentiments of the woman who makes masks featuring ‘birds, butterflies and flowers’ and even the hearts at the end of the story. There is also ugliness in the flash and I see potential for this in the grey area in the bottom third of the illustration. This section also resonates with the ‘grinning teeth’ of the story. Thank you, Claudia, another perfect match.

    1. Claudia McGill Post author

      I lovethe color scheme of this piece – pink and yellow and gray always look good to me. It is a happy combination to me. And for this story, I am glad that you chose an artwork that focused on the happier outlook, the desire to make things better. Because I think it would have been easy to decide on something that commemorated the darker behaviors in the story – the story is in fact, to me, about how difficult it is to hold on to the better impulses, and the strength of the character who fights against giving in and instead goes to improve things in the way she can.

  2. Laura (PA Pict)

    I absolutely love the colour palette for this artwork, especially those bold, warm sunset colours and the bright pink stretching out across the cold neutrals like the character in the story who hopes to spread some cheer and compassion through her fabric choices.

    1. Claudia McGill Post author

      This picture is one of my favorites because of the color scheme. Hope, to me, is pink and yellow, and the contrast with the gray makes them stronger.

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