Malware: A Digital Painting Reflecting the Melancholy of Heartbreak

A Unique Artistic Expression by Maheen Sana

Everyone copes with heartbreak in their own way. The idea and execution give Malware its unique essence. There's duality in nature. You can't know happiness without sadness. Malware translates this concept with various contrasting features. The use of black and white, chaotic foreground and calm background, hardness and softness. All create a romantic, yet sombre atmosphere. There's just something very profound about creating beauty out of sorrow.

I used Adobe Photoshop and a Wacom graphics tablet to create this digital painting. I initially intended for the drawing to be made against a white background. However, upon experimenting with different colors, I realized that my idea was portrayed better with darker tones. I used a Mechanical Pencil brush in Photoshop to achieve the rough graphite texture. In addition, I used the noise filter to create a film grain finish to the painting.

This is a 1270 by 1066 mm digital painting. The entire painting was made using a brush tool in Adobe Photoshop. I used the Mechanical Pencil brush tool to achieve the rough graphite texture. To finish the painting off, I added the noise filter in photoshop to create a film grain texture.

Oddly, our difficult times connect us with other human beings more deeply than anything else. I hope that Malware can evoke a sense of melancholic familiarity within the audience. Even if it is just an audience of one.

This project started on July 9th, 2019 from the comfort of Maheen Sana's home and was finished and uploaded on January 26th, 2020.

Due to the nature of this artwork, most of the material that Maheen Sana required was available from personal experience. However, there was still some research involved. Deciding the part of Venice to display, reading the story behind Daleks, Trojan Horse, and the Roman betrayal. The digital medium was chosen for this painting because of its efficiency and flexibility, making it perfect for this spontaneous project.

Working on a detailed piece with a mechanical pencil was definitely challenging, and there were moments when Maheen Sana was on the verge of abandoning the piece altogether. Fortunately, with Malware, there was an urgency to share it with the world. The hardest part for Maheen Sana was painting something so exposing while living in a society that thrives on shaming people for showing emotional vulnerability.

Made entirely digitally using Photoshop and a graphics tablet, Malware displays the result of the dissolution of a relationship. The contrast in the painting is based on the concept of duality in nature, of the contrast between happiness and sorrow. The use of black and white, chaotic foreground and calm background, hardness and softness, all create a romantic, yet somber mood and express the melancholy one is left with following a breakup.

© 2020 Maheen Sana

This Design was awarded Bronze in A' Fine Arts and Art Installation Design Award in 2021. Bronze A' Design Award: Bestowed upon outstanding and creatively ingenious designs that authenticate experience and resourcefulness. Esteemed for incorporating best practices in art, science, design, and technology, they exhibit strong technical and creative skills and contribute to quality of life improvements, making the world a better place.