…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, The Recliner, by Jacqueline Doyle.
And here is the artwork with the banner. Take a look at this image. And then…
Read the story at Fictive Dream.
Claudia McGill and Her Art World 
I was determined to use this illustration and I was so pleased when I realised that today’s flash, The Recliner by Jacqueline Doyle, was just the vehicle for it. The narrator refers to a former job in the theatre and I see this illustration very much as a stage set with the circles representing some of the object that she mentions. I love the colours also so thank you very much, Claudia, another winner.
I like this image a lot too and I was glad to see it illustrating this story. I saw the circles as isolated and, in the context of the story, almost like balls that are in motion and in the process of changing positions, like the characters. I liked the story very much and I felt the bewilderment of the narrator. I thought the clarity of this image made a good counterpoint to this feeling of confusion she felt – taking into consideration that the other characters obviously were sure of themselves and their actions. I think the image collborates well with this story.
I love this image. It has the feeling of a house interior, which is apt, but I also love the sense that the orbs relate to each other because of the repeated form but they are isolated from each other and are not connecting in any way.
Yes, I was amazed at how well this image fit the story. Once again, I am marveling at how Laura was able to fit story and image together so that you can look at each one and the other part adds to it. Even though the focus is on the story, I think this method also gets the reader to interpret the art more, once the story has been read, because the art is not so specific. Which I think then adds to the story, in that people examine it more closely, maybe, too.
I love this as an illustration to my story! It fits the emphasis on color in the story, and the black orb with the white circle inside of it reminds me both of the spotlights on a stage and also the narrator’s feeling that her husband is strangely spotlighted during their conversation. I’ve loved all of Claudia’s art this year so far (and in previous years).
Thank you so much. I like this picture a lot because of the colors and because of the clairy of the composition – I like the extreme individuality of the shapes in that they hold themselves apart from each other. Somehow the balance and rhythm of it pleased me.