A very bright world, the one we live in. Benevolent light everywhere, however its benevolence has limits, as it does not extend to us. Are you a good person? Do you deserve love, acceptance, and life? I certainly think so, my child, but it seems the light in this bright world would beg to differ. That is why I advise you to cast your own shadow in this world of blinding, deceptive kindness, so that you may not lose yourself in the light that will otherwise leave you blind, disassociated, and unrecognizable. After all, darkness and shadows are not to be feared as in opposition to light, but just another aspect of the world that can also bring comfort.

Something completely different (I wonder if anyone knew I was capable of this stuff? I almost never do any realistic art anymore since graduating, though I have memorized enough of the basics of human facial anatomy to pull it off when I want to). At this point it's not so much a sketch as it is utilizing the pencil tool. This has been an idea I've had for a while: Instead of a lantern providing light in a room too dark to see, a lantern providing darkness in a room too bright to see. I got the motivation to try it today and this is what I came up with. The motivation sparked from me feeling like I haven't been fitting into the social circles I have established. Most of the ones I have physically are built around my brother in law inviting me places with his friends. They may be friendly to me, but I always feel out of place. I've been trying to find where I really belong while thinking it is supposed to be with this friend group. I need to abandon this apparent "light" to find my own space where I can fit in.

On that same topic, I liked reversing the archetypes of light and darkness. In fiction, religion, and in figurative language in general, light almost always represents something desirable, like holiness, and darkness almost always represents something undesirable, like sinfulness. Similar to the concept of Hades and Zeus in greek mythology, darkness is not always terrible, and light is not always wonderful. In this way, I also hope to show how these archetypes can be changed into different meanings just by changing placement, purpose, and narrative.

Image references used:
-https://www.pinterest.com/pin/550635491911730685/?lp=true
-https://www.pinterest.com/pin/550987335643656726/?lp=true
-https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hand-holding-lantern-white-background-62142541