Too Much to Handle

“Too Much to Handle” is a self-portrait inspired by a frustration Max went through one weekend in May.   It is also the first piece to be done completely in pencil.  It was done fully in pencil to represent the “awkward” or “strange” feeling with so much going on.  With Web Design work still on his belt, Max making a transition to also get some part-time work.  At the same time, Max is eagerly planning ways to show more art.  The “confusion” and “randomness” in the photo is inspired by the thoughts in Max’s head.  The portrait shows Max sitting at his laptop feeling “frustrated” while his hair blends in with the abstract background.  The portrait is filled up to make it appear as though way too much is going on for Max to think about, hence the “randomness” of the drawing.  The background also includes random celebrity faces including: Margot Robbie, Emily Ratajkowski, Lin Manuel-Miranda, Yondu (AKA Michael Rooker), Stanley Kubrick, and Alfred Hitchcock.   The celebrities were mixed with the background to make the drawing seem like “a lot” going on “all over the place.”  Max chose celebrities he admired to remind people that having too much work, while stressful, has advantages.  The table below the laptop was drawn to look like an optical illusion.  The charger and iPhone chords from the laptop look as though they are being cut with scissors while turning into a fetus carrying the laptop.  A hand, inspired by Steve Jobs, is lifting the laptop from underneath.  A monkey is also swinging from the laptop, holding onto branches in a forest.

11×14 Mixed Media Paper
No 2. Pencil
May 2017