Study of Renata During the Binge (Full Body Version), 2025. Blue ink on vellum, 6 x 8 in.
Renata is a character who shows up in several stories. In the original draft of The Vaster Conspiracy, I gave her a brief cameo in which she is passed out drunk in a banquette next to Dr. Rasteban at the Breslin Bay Old Colonist’s Club. In the second draft, I wrote a scene in which Vaster and Renata go on a binge together, with Vaster interrogating her about Dr. Rasteban’s dubious medical experiments until he gets so intoxicated that he forgets what they’re talking about.
The black square tattoo on Renata’s shoulder is a cover-up. This raises the question: if the rest of her body is covered with demonic sigils and arcane talismans, what was so dangerous that it needed to be completely blacked out?
The composition of this study was inspired by Caravaggio’s strong use of the edge as a framing device, as seen in paintings like Self Portrait as Bacchus and Conversion on the Way to Damascus.