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But it isn't clear
Is it something we should cheer?
Is it something we should fear?
cw alcohol, smoking, oblique discussion of alcoholism, new parent things
I really wonder about the lyrics of the song that's being sung during these scenes; I haven't yet decided what I think is the "something" they're referring to; it could be Henry's sense of self, his bond with his child, or something else entirely.
This series of glimpses of Henry caring for, and bonding with, infant Annette always pulls at my heartstrings. Newborn babies are so tiny, even in comparison to an average sized person! He's so painfully aware of both his size and her fragility, his every movement carefully restrained, so markedly different from his usual powerful prowling. He's curious, learning about this new little stranger that arrived on the heels of Ann's laughter; gusting his breath through her downy hair, and exploring just HOW tiny she is by carefully stacking her in one huge hand like a baby chick still in the egg, and draping her along the length of his arm, her head cradled by his palm.
And Annette is blissfully calm and adoring through it all. She's never yet had any reason to not trust this huge man who rocks her so gently in his strong arms.
The pull of Henry's addictions remains a constant, even in these moments of fatherly exploration; his smoking never ceases, even while Annette is in his arms, and neither does his drinking. In a clever bit of foreshadowing, Henry takes a sip of his whiskey FIRST, and then turns his head to gaze at his daughter, echoing his choice later on to go clubbing and attempt to drown his sorrows and guilt in booze, rather than stay and care for his child himself. And every one of Henry's truly terrible choices were made while he was drunk.
An interesting detail I picked up from an interview with the artists who created the Annette puppets (there are 5 or 6 in total, from birth to age 5), is that they would introduce each iteration of her to the actors on set. So this really is Henry getting to know infant!Annette, because ADAM had just been introduced to her, and you can watch them both fall in love, one tiny detail at a time.
The reference for this one is a screencap I took from "Annette." The iconography of it, with Henry rocking her like a Madonna holding her child, in front of the halo of that round decoration on the wall behind him, really drew me, so I decided to play up that aspect. It would be safe to say that Henry is far from saint-like, but one could reasonably argue that in this scene he's trying to listen to his better angels. As ever, the colors remain a part of the story, with Henry in his characteristic green, Ann is present in the yellow of the lighting, the wedding ring, and the halo-like element behind Henry. I have yet to decide what color is associated with Annette, but I have a strong suspicion it's red. I am delighted and amused that this version of Annette is ever so slightly yellow, as if they made her a tiny bit jaundiced, like so many breastfed babies are in their first couple of weeks of life.
About 12-13 hours of painting for this one. I will admit to losing track of time while I was fussing with the color; there are 6 color gradients and 5 color overlays on this one, and it was worth every minute I lost track of to get them right.
