…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, Like Swans Gliding, by Laura Besley.
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 
For today’s story Like Swans Gliding by Laura Besley it took me a while to decide on an illustration. In the end I thought this one the best fit largely because of the white circle which I interpreted as the narrator amidst the mental chaos in which she finds herself. Arguably, the palette is composed of happy colours but in this context I took them to represent the war zone that the narrator’s partner has experienced. Thank you, Claudia, once again we’ve got harmony between test and artwork.
Thank you. I always see these colors as meaning warmth, closeness, and bright outlook, and I interpreted your choice as a hopeful slant for the characters’ lives – maybe if they can get through this part of life, they will regain the sunnier aspects.
Oh I love the palette – yum!
Yes, I do too. I think it is warm and comforting, and makes me think of summer. I remember I had a beach towel in this color scheme when I was young, as a matter of fact…
Another fabulous illustration. I love the sunset colour palette and – on writing that – now I am thinking about sunrise and sunset as it might apply to stages of relationships. I also like that faint white rectangle of the pillow and the swirling circle in the middle of it that is the narrator’s pummeling mark in the pillow and also her emotional turmoil.
Thank you. I like this combination of colors very much as I associate it with happiness and a sense of safety and warmth. I hope in the story that these things will be possible for the characters.