Golden Elephant (3 of 15), acrylic ink on paper, 12 x 15 in. (16 x 20 in. matted), 2014.

This drawing from of my “Golden Elephant Series”, which explores sentimentality and symbolism. These drawings are about the emotional attachment people have to the things they carry around with them (a physical object, a memory, a story, or anything else of great significance to them), things that essentially become an extension of themselves. This thing can be anything that the person wants it to be and can mean something different to different people.

Elephants are creatures that have historically acquired several different meanings, culturally or on an individual basis. They can symbolize strength, patience, dignity, longevity, wisdom, pride, stability, and much more, making them the perfect variable to represent the thing that people carry around with them. The gold of these elephants makes them less of drawings of natural animals, but rather provides them more of an idol quality associated with symbolism. The raw, organic shapes draping over them represents the emotions attached to those meanings behind the symbol.

This drawing is matted, but not framed.