Don't... Book 1
The Players
@DRAWNBYAGGIE is the official abstract artist for the Don't... series. Losing herself to the reflection of human nature through her art of complex shapes and symbolism, she's ventured into the dark realm of Don't.... And with Gray and his love of abstract art whispering in her ear... she's getting up close and personal with Jack, Jan, and Gray's twisted world in... Don't... Book 1 and -
"My God. The obsession with these men!" ~ aggie
SWINGS AND SCREWED UP ROUNDABOUTS
THE VERY FIRST work in progress video for Book one captures how the Main Don’t… drawing went on the board, how the first O of the Tic Tac Toe pattern took a nervous shape and how Jack, Gray and Jan start taking their own circular shapes in my chosen abstract form - the Borromean rings.
BORROMEAN INTERPLAY
IN MATHMATICS, THE Borromean rings are three simple closed curves in three-dimensional space that are topologically linked and cannot be separated from each other, but that break apart into two unknotted and unlinked loops when any one of the three is cut or removed. This to me was a perfect representation for how the triad link together and how inseparable they become.
OBSESSION ~ IDK YOU YET...
WHEN I WAS ready to start pulling together the first set of video clips together and because the first Don’t… novel had such a significance in my love and obsession for the series, I remembered that Jack L. Pyke enjoys music in her own writing process and music plays an incredibly important in mine. So I hesitantly asked Jack if she could give me three top songs that come to her mind when she thinks of of Don’t… Book 1. She was kind enough to humour me and when I listened to the first song - "IDK You Yet" by Alexander 23, I felt like I was hit in the chest in the best kind of way. It was such an absolutely perfect fit, almost as if it was written to describe that feeling Jack H had when he hasn’t yet met Jan but knew there was something missing. I listened to it on repeat for what felt like hours and so it became the perfect song for the first set of Don’t… art work in progress clips.
YOU'RE COMPLICATED, JACK. I LIKE THAT
THE SECOND VIDEO for Don’t… first focuses on the creation of rope pattern that surrounds the three circular shapes: Jack, Jan and Gray. The rope is a symbol for Gray and his skill not only as the Master Dom, but also as the Kinbakushi Master. It also symbolises how everything important Gray ‘touches’ (the rope reaches out from Gray’s circle in double layers and goes around Jack and Jan), becomes ‘his’ in the deepest and most significant way.
HERE WE ALSO SEE the beginnings of Jack’s ‘tuning fork’ triangle that represents Jack with all his disorders and complexities. And in Gray’s circle I’ve included ‘lightning streaks’ that are shaped almost like steps that are winding down to the middle, into the core of what Gray represents to me: the darkness that most will misunderstand, but also the light in all the ways he cares and loves for those closest to him.
THE MUSIC FOCUS for these clips is "Papercut" by Linkin Park. It’s the second song Jack L. Pyke was kind enough to send my way when thinking about Don’t… and the moment the lyrics started flowing, I was yet again gobsmacked with how perfectly it ‘fits’ Jack H and my own interpretation of him in the first novel: the ‘tuning fork’ triangle which through an optical illusion gives the uneasy feeling the more you look at it. But just like Jack H, while it’s difficult to imagine how Jack lives with all of his disorders, it makes the reader ‘uneasy’, but we can’t stop but want to learn more. So it is with the ‘tuning fork’ triangle - you kind of want to keep looking at it, even with all the unease the optical illusion gives you.
DON'T... PLAY WITH ME, JACK
TRUE COLOURS
IN THE FINAL the final video for Don’t… there is that first glimpse of the metallic colours that will follow Jack’s, Gray’s and Jan’s circular shapes for the remaining Nine pieces. Just like Jack L. Pyke teaches us about the Don’t… world via her gorgeous written word, I took the opportunity here to teach my own language for the nine novels: the metallic colours that represent the men of the Don’t… Universe.
JACK H WAS immediately the pure metallic silver (to honour those stunning eyes), and his silver becomes the base for the other metallic colours because of their intertwined relationship. Only when we mix Jack H’s silver with other colours we get the others: Jan’s is sometimes lavender, sometimes violet - all in honour of the blue roses he loves so much. Gray’s is black mixed with silver and all the tones we get in between, just like the man himself. This is also where we first see the inside of Jan’s circle and the softer wavy lines that represent the softer side to Jan when compared to Jack’s and Gray’s harder edges. Jan’s circle is also surrounded by my interpretation of an ‘abacus’ - an ancient calculation tool used by sliding counters along rods or grooves, used to perform mathematical functions. When honouring Jan, I couldn’t not choose a symbol for his love for numbers.
AND FINALLY - THE red paint bubbles that have turned into the most beautiful paint splashes that represent Jack H, his play with the Unknown, and, Gray, his psychopathic tendencies, but also that deep rooted care for those who matter to him the most.
MUSIC THAT FITS perfectly with this set of clips is "My Kind of Love" by Emeli Sandé. The last one of Jack L. Pyke’s picks for the top three songs I asked for, and this one probably ‘hit’ me the hardest. It’s so Gray and his strength of feeling, even in that way that is not obvious and is not shouted out loud. It’s utter perfection and represents him so well.
MUSIC DISCLAIMER: the artwork depicted is for non-commercial usage. Any music used in these videos was used to aid the creative drawing process. Full credit to all artists mentioned!
