“I just…I don’t know. I LOVE drawing Erik’s face. I love it. It’s hideous, but that’s what makes it so much fun. It’s always so much fun for me, every single time, to try and portray the beauty in the grotesque. Because I do believe that beauty extends far beyond airbrushed notions of perfection. If you look at things through an artistic lens–in terms of light, shading, color, and form–suddenly, beauty can be found in the most unusual places. I suppose Erik just became my channel for that message, as ridiculous and lofty as that sounds. I try to preserve his dignity and beauty, in all its gruesome detail, when I draw his face. It’s a challenge. Because in essence, Erik resembles the one thing that mankind reviles the most: death. It’s horrific. It’s abject. No wonder he was so feared; he was a living corpse, an embodiment of decay, so monstrously impossible to ponder that society cast him off, and he even cast HIMSELF off by hiding his face and walling himself up in a glorified tomb.
Therein lies the challenge every time I draw Erik: take something so despised and feared and, through an artistic lens, redeem it as best I can. He deserves it, at least. 🙂 After all, we’re still in love with this character 100 years after he first crashed that chandelier! ”
-Muirin007
Personally I just can second that comment.
Phantastic art is here again!!
I love it that she uploads so much in the last time. C: My day is suddenly great when I see it.
I just saw this and first of all, I’m so touched that you posted this with my quote. I’ve never been quoted before. Except when people mimic me screaming. Which happens often.
Secondly, I still feel this way. It never gets old. Ever. This story has been so fundamental in helping me challenge my ideas of what beauty really means. I don’t think I could every really express how important Phantom is to me. Because of this guy, I find myself almost automatically thinking, “That is gorgeous” when I look at something–anything–that’s not considered conventionally beautiful–even something grotesque. I think Erik has made me a much more open-minded person. Feels somewhat odd to be grateful to a fictional character, but I definitely am. I’m touched that my portrayal of him resonates with people.
If we can learn anything from his story, it’s to love intensely and to remain open-hearted. The world needs more of that.
I-want-my-IWTV 