soren
cousins



He/Him

Illustrator, Concept Artist/Character Artist                                       
medieval, gothic, lgbtqia+, portraiture, concept, characters, dark, illustrative, fantasy


 

My series of work, titled Acceptance, contains both digital and traditional medium artworks. Each piece is a glimpse into my life as a transgender man, and an intimate representation of the most significant stages of my transition. The works were done in larger scale and with a high degree of detail to properly capture the range of emotion being depicted, so that the viewers of my work can grapple with the concepts and better understand exactly what I felt at each stage.

I begin my works with a series of concept sketches, lists and notes to organize my thoughts, and a long refinement process to ensure I am happy and settled with a concept before I get started. The next step is to take or find reference photos as necessary, and begin working through several stages of sketching and further refinement. For these pieces, I did studies on the side of how metal looked under various forms of lighting, the appropriate length of a sword compared to a person my size, and how skin changes under different light. When I got stuck on the finer details of metal, skin, and hair, I turned to other artist’s processes, both historical and modern; which gave me a significantly better understanding of the process behind painting these textures than I could have gleaned from images alone. The certain degree of realism in my use of colour and shape was very important to me, as I wanted the viewer to be able to connect with my pieces on a deeper level even if they did not know similar experiences to compare to personally.

This body of work is not to grieve the loss of who I was, nor is it to lament over what I suffered. It is a victory in finding peace and acceptance for myself after a long and hard battle, and claiming the happiness I deserve, even if it was difficult to do.





Previous Works

 
MHC
Art & Design Program – MHC

We would like to acknowledge the support of sponsors, including: 

Contact Info
livingroomartdesign@gmail.com
403.529.3959
Address
399 College Ave SE
Medicine Hat, AB - Canada
T1A 3Y6
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