This is “The Procession,” a 2-color woodblock print that I made in college. This was the first time I used the simplified figures that can be found in a lot of my work.
When I drew the first sketch for this, I wanted to do a multi-figure scene, but I’d never drawn more than one or two figures together up to that point. I simplified the figures so I could work out the placement and the basic gestures; the thought being that I could figure out more specific anatomy as a second step. But to my surprise I found that I enjoyed the figures drawn in this stylized way.
The scene was a wry comic look at the world. The tombstones say “die” and there is a person standing on the corpse in order to better give directions to the grave. The people in the front are oblivious to everything, repurposing the funeral lilies to express their love.
