DT—20

Ethan Pugsley

Ethan Pugsley

He/Him/They/Them

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Ethan is a trans identified illustrator from a small farming community near Toronto. He loves queer art and stories, horseback riding, and drawing beautiful men. He has a fondness for risqué concepts, and likes to make art that explores mental health, relationships, and character development. He is currently working on a long term narrative project with themes of gender, sexuality, taboo, and intersectional identities. 

Ethiras – What the Water Gave Me

  Digital render of an original character who is the cornerstone muse of a lot of my work, and one of the main characters of my long term narrative projects. Made to celebrate his fictional birthday in March, he is often themed with koi fish and the colour blue. Painted in Photoshop.

Smoochies for Elliott

  Painted in Photoshop. Another exercise of rendering exploration with more emphasis on lighting, shape, and colour contrasts without relying too heavily on linework. A self-indulgent piece of fanart made for fun and as a tentative foray into creating works with characters participating in acts of physical intimacy.

Voice // Vise

  An inability to speak, or when one does, it only causes problems.The first of a series of three images depicting some of my experiences with anxiety. It is an image reflecting on the sensation of having a tight throat and the perceived consequences of speaking one’s mind. Experimenting with colours and combining graphic shapes with more rendered, painterly moments. Painted in Photoshop.

Elliott & Matteo on a Date

  Digital painting of a couple having a picnic. Made to explore rendering styles and to practice elements of composition such as having two figures interacting in a scene with a cohesive colour palette and a background. My goal was to experiment with a combination of painting and linework for a full scene that could be used effectively as a spread in a graphic novel or comic. Painted in Photoshop.

Mind // Tar // Slip // Melt

  The hazy, sliding feeling of brain fog, where everything feels too bright and smeared like traffic lights on a rainy night. Experimental painting exploring colour intensities and more abstract visual elements, such as EKG monitor graphs and soundwaves. Painted to express a component of my anxiety, which involves a sensation of having pressure inside the skull, or having the skull feel “too full”. Painted in Photoshop, the second in a series of three images.

Plea

  One of many experimental versions of this piece. Painted traditionally with purposefully inexpensive materials and manipulated digitally afterwards in Photoshop. Experimental symbolism and once again combining painterly stylization with graphic elements. I consider this a “vent” piece with themes of life, ego death, and desperation. Original 8” x 10 “ canvas board and craft paint.