Technicolor Familiar
Illustrations by E. K. McDonnell
September 14 - November 20, 2020
Technicolor Familiar encapsulates the current iteration of McDonnell's personal art practice. The name was adopted in 2018 to reflect the evolution taking place in her artwork; "technicolor" for highly saturated palettes, and "familiar" for creatures connected to magic and the occult. Anachronistic in style and symbolism, Technicolor Familiar exists somewhere between surrealism, pop art, medieval altarpieces, and Western esotericism. This new body of work draws inspiration from the (un)natural world, astrology, alchemy, dreams and the subconscious.
Emma K. McDonnell has been a practicing illustrator for nearly a decade, providing original artwork for theatre companies up and down the East Coast, including Pig Pen Theatre Co., Third Rail Projects LLC, and HCC's very own Arts Collective. As a fine art illustrator, McDonnell primarily works with traditional media, combining bold colors and delicate mark-making to generate small-scale, intimate illustrations. She received an AA in Studio Art from HCC and a BFA in Illustration from the Art Institute of Boston, and had been applying her formal visual art education to creative jobs in the performing arts ever since.
Saint III
Ballpoint pen and Posca marker
4.5” x 6”
2019
Ballpoint pen and Posca marker
4.5” x 6”
2019
Technicolor Familiar I
Posca marker and gel pen
8” x 10”
2019
8” x 10”
2019
Capricorn
Felt pen and gel pen
4.5” x 6”
2018
Felt pen and gel pen
4.5” x 6”
2018
Yew Branch
Felt pen and Posca marker
4” x 6”
2018
Moon in Virgo, After Saint Bartholomew
Felt pen, ballpoint pen, and Posca marker
4.5” x 6”
2019
Felt pen, ballpoint pen, and Posca marker
4.5” x 6”
2019
The Forest at Night
Felt pen and Posca marker
4.5” x 6”
2019
Felt pen and Posca marker
4.5” x 6”
2019
Decay Series, no. 1
Colored pencil, ink, Posca marker
6” x 6”
2020
Owls
Ballpoint pen and Posca marker
8” x 10”
2019
Ballpoint pen and Posca marker
8” x 10”
2019
Decay Series, no. 2
Colored pencil, ink, Posca marker
6” x 6”
2020
Colored pencil, ink, Posca marker
6” x 6”
2020
SkullFelt pen
5” x 6”
2018
The Seer
Felt pen and Posca marker
4.5” x 6”
2019
Felt pen and Posca marker
4.5” x 6”
2019
Decay Series, no. 3
Colored pencil, ink, Posca marker
6” x 6”
2020
Colored pencil, ink, Posca marker
6” x 6”
2020
Lover’s Eye
Colored pencil, ink, Posca marker
6” x 9”
2020
Colored pencil, ink, Posca marker
6” x 9”
2020