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#History-of-Cool
The History Of Cool

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Submitted: April 1, 2012
Image Size: 525 KB
Resolution: 800×800

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Comments: 4
Favourites: 9 [who?]
Views: 278 (0 today)
Downloads: 227 (0 today)

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Make:Canon
Model:Canon EOS 20D
Shutter Speed:1/60 second
Aperture:F/4.0
Focal Length:25 mm
ISO Speed:400
Date Taken:Mar 3, 2012, 6:08:50 PM
Sensor Size:5mm

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Iatrophobiaby ~EmeraldAbsinthe

Digital Art / Mixed Media / Macabre & Horror

iatrophobia:
An abnormal or irrational fear of doctors or going to the doctor.

Besides from the direct personal meaning this has to me (see my comment below), it can also be interpreted in two other ways, depending on whether you see the symbolism and allusions

I think it's more "mixed media" than "photomanipulation" because although it contains photographed parts, it's based on a drawing, contains 2 "traditional paintings" and the background and textures are painted with watercolors and acrylics too. And I've also painted digitally over the whole thing.
This work is actually the reason I haven't submitted anything new for a whole year, as I had to practice a lot for all the techniques I used.

I didn't use any stock (I never do), but I used reference material (medical illustrations) to draw the skull. And that's my own face by the way

Any comments are welcome! If you think it sucks, tell me why!
I'm still not completely happy with my work here so please help me improve it ^^

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~drigulch Apr 6, 2012

"Uhhhhhhh ...." To quote Bill Clinto, "Define irrational" This is one Doctor who would scare the vitriol out of the devil were he to look in his appointment book and discover that she had scheduled him for a check-up. What an absolutely outstanding portrait to strike therapeutic fear. i love the feel that she projects to her patients -- who i am sure never say it out loud but think it to themselves, "Mercy! If she looks that bad herself and in unquestionably hell-bound health, maybe i will want to be picking a new clinic" If she told me that whatever sinister serum that she was pushing for the pharmaceutical company was the very same stuff she routinely used herself, i would dive out of a fifth floor wind of her clinic and take my chances with the concrete, alligators in the moat, and the spikes atop the wrought iron fences around her office.

~EmeraldAbsinthe Apr 9, 2012

Thank you for the review! This work is very emotional and means a lot to me - I've been needing knee surgery for like 5 years and I've always delayed it because the very thought of it scares me so much I'm not even able to make a phone call for an appointment.
And I'm not even scared of doctors or medical things, it's just that the whole idea of anesthesia and surgery feels like some alien abduction nightmare to me, because you have absolutely no control of what they're actually doing to you.

So I decided to confront myself with one of my worst fears and I've had a copy of the sketch for this on my bedroom wall for almost a year, scribbling stuff on it every once in a while. I've never done anything before that was so hard to finish - the reason why the result is a mixture of photograph, digital and traditional painting and drawing is that it was virtually impossible for me to paint this in one piece with traditional means (I tried about 6 times) - you just can't go all Bob Ross on your worst nightmare ^^

So when I decided it had to be done this way I just went completely crazy on it, splattering paint around and spraying water over it and even painting with an old sock and a broom, and didn't care about messing things up because I'd fix them later digitally.

A while ago I would've considered this "cheating" but now I know it's actually even more work because it's much harder to get all elements to look right together :-P

Whew. I never intended to tell the internet so much about myself. I hope all this makes any sense ^^

~drigulch Apr 9, 2012

Well i thank you VERY much for sharing so much personal insight and background to this fabulous image. i cannot find the slightest bit of cheating in the way you have communicated so complex, difficult, and intimately painful a portrait. The purist artist within you very much shows through in your description and how you look on it internal as taking liberties in presenting the subject, but the delighted admirer in me finds the way you ultimately decided to portray the project to be perfect. The mixtures of media and methods really hist hard at the crux of you anxiousness -- very much reflects a simple surgical scene suddenly becoming complicated and not straightforward at all. Your Gary Larson twist on making all those Bob Ross trees "happy trees" -- right until they tip over and crush you while you are painting them is delicious. The splattered paint and spraying water has all the sound of a wild alien abduction exploratory survey plus implant session feel spot on for this work. Recently had some medical stuff go on myself under conditions much as you describe, and yes, you have zero control once they start pressing whatever is in that little syringe into your veins. You cross your fingers and hope that you return to reality with you, and not them, in command of your brains.

~EmeraldAbsinthe Apr 10, 2012

Now I think it's my turn to pay you a compliment - I've never seen anyone commenting as eloquently and with such vivid imagery on deviantART or in fact anywhere else. I feel honoured; and you've inspired me to write a bit more in the "description" field in the future.

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