Melancholy

I have always found melancholy a very fascinating feeling because it is shrouded in mystery. Very often there are no reasons that lead us to experience this feeling. I don't perceive melancholy as a feeling that tends downwards, more as something that brings us closer to a slow reflection capable of moving things. I think it's a moment of contemplation that welcomes elements like sadness. It may be dark, but not pessimistic. This is not an abyss. It resembles an introversion of the spirit, the spirit that gives itself a break and then has the opportunity to give birth to something authentic.
When I designed this work I imagined it as something dense and precious, I didn't want it to disperse but I wanted it to convey a feeling of recollection. So I decided to enclose the scene in a narrow rectangle.
The subject is seated and is in an interior but the sky behind her refers to a surreal scene. The sky, a bit dark, reminds of introversion, inner exploration. It is the visual manifestation of that feeling.
In my melancholy, however, I wanted to insert an unknown. It's something that can leave space for a different path. The girl almost seems to uncover her arm and, looking at the interlocutor, shows the bracelet. It's not something immediate, it's an uncertain, very subtle gesture that easily fades into the background. Is it meaningless or does it hide a story? And if so, what does it tell? A memory? A bond with a human being, with something that exists, that has existed, or with something that cannot be seen, something that can only be felt...?
There is no answer. Maybe just like melancholy.
My technique involves the use of charcoal and graphite pencils, both with a fine tip. Through slow and fine layering I reach the ideal tones, balancing the presence of graphite and charcoal so as to give depth and realism to the work.