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The Rotten Earth

APRIL 28, 2010
The Earth: Fragile Planet exhibition Society of Illustrators The Rotten Earth © Bill Mayer 2010
  I have had this Idea for a painting in my head for a while. Ever since I read Blood Meridian, a novel by Cormac McCarthy. It was McCarthy's fifth book, but my first introduction to McCarthy. There was a description in the book of a bush the Kid comes across the heads of native infants impaled on the limbs their soulless eyes staring out. When the Fragile Planet project came along it seemed like a great fit. What I had in my head was the Earth as a fragile child crying black tears pooling underneath, a sad and somber piece. I did some little tumbnails and  this gouache sketch on corrugated board as a study for a painting, then decided I liked the study.
© 2024 Bill Mayer