The Murder Diary a study in madness

Once upon a time I did a 3 part painting. The paintings were to document the slow decent of a nameless murderer into the depths of madness. I wanted a feel to this that would reflect a journal or diary who’s author had decided that writing was not adequate to tell his story. Instead he opted to use a mixture of scribble and doodles. These doodles evolved and took over, much like the voices in the author’s head.

At the time I did these paintings I’d been reading a lot of Stephen King. King had a phrase that I figured would work well with my paintings, the phrase was Dead Lights. King also had a book out called Insomnia. In Insomnia the hero could see a person’s soul connected to their bodies via a thread of light. Perfect! I wanted my mad journalist to show the souls of those whom he’d harvested. The dead lights and Soul Strings would work perfectly! Below is the first evolved entry into what my mad author would call the Murder Diary.

We see our hatchet wielding psycho sitting in an alley, his identity is not really his own any longer. Rather his should is just another Dead Light looking to be released but held in place by life.

Diary Entry 1. 

Diary Entry 2.

Here we see the subject expressing his fear of his psychiatrist and perhaps a fear of the entire study of the human condition. His doctor is portrayed as a clinical monster who is actually a bit more frightening than the leather clad BDSM practitioner melded to the to it’s body. In the background we see a grasping Soul String reaching out to grab hold of the Doctor’s soul? Or is is it repelled by a soullessness? The author undoubtably wishes he could learn more with his trusty ax.

 

Diary Entry 3.

Clearly we see a total breakdown and embrace of madness by the diary’s author. Our hatchet fiend no longer trying to cling to reality. Instead he has become a raging avatar of death swimming in blood. Who is the figure in the upper corner? Is it perhaps an angel who the author feels might save him? Or is the figure at the bottom his savior? There is obviously a separation of the two, we can wee this via the severed Soul String.

Where does our story go from here? I can’t say, the above entry was the last.