Misadventures in the Land of Fables #75
ON ILLUSTRATING
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When I write a new version of an old fable I can usually find a vintage illustration or three to add some visual appeal to my commentary. For an original, it’s not so easy. I can source an image of the animal protagonist—there’s a tradition of highly aesthetic, scientific illustration to draw upon—or I could draw it myself.
You may have noted my illustration of the elephant defecating, or the man lying down to give his shadow a rest. I have tried again for the latest fable, ‘The Dung Beetle and the Snail,’ which you can read here. It’s a tale of misplaced confidence, or mistaken belief held so confidently the creature, a dung beetle, refuses to change its attitude despite the facts.
My first attempt at illustration (see below) tried to capture the size difference between snail shell and dung beetle that was a key element of the story, at least when I began to write. But the image didn’t work thematically. It adopts the beetles point of view and portrays it in an almost heroic confrontation with a force greater than itself, a mystery.
More appropriate would be the snail’s departure, but even that is only part of the story. The beetle needs to be there, reacting to this turn of events. Perhaps one day I’ll add him to the picture.
Drawing is one thing, illustration another: both are hard.
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