Ch 4 P2 Monday Rashad

Summary

Rashad recalls how he became interested in drawing. As a child, he collected The Family Circus comic panels from the Sunday newspaper and copied them, eventually creating his own circular, family-themed cartoons. In art class, his teacher, Mrs. Kapoor Dean, introduced him to Harlem Renaissance painter Aaron Douglas. Douglas’s work inspired Rashad to move beyond copying comics and develop a style of his own.

While recovering in the hospital after being injured in a police encounter, Rashad begins a drawing based on the incident and the images repeatedly shown on the news. His friends Carlos, English, and Shannon visit. Their conversation shifts between jokes, concern for Rashad, and anger about what happened. English and Shannon feel constrained by their coach’s rules, while Carlos talks about wanting to do something. Alone afterward, Rashad is overwhelmed by seeing his face beside the officer’s on television. Unable to turn off the TV with the remote, he yanks out its power cord.

Artistic Techniques and Creative Process

• Aaron Douglas’s influence: Rashad describes Douglas’s figures as dark silhouettes—Black people rendered without distinct facial features—set against a hazy, ghostlike atmosphere. Beams or areas of light break through the darkness.
• Adapting a visual influence: Rashad combines Douglas’s silhouette style with the circular framing he remembers from The Family Circus.
• Drawing and revision: He first sketches the figures and setting, repeatedly reconsidering the boy’s pose and the second figure’s position before settling on the outline.
• Pencil shading: To create Douglas-like contrasts, Rashad shades the drawing, smears graphite with a damp thumb to create lighter gray areas, and builds darker marks by repeatedly working the pencil over the paper.
• Earlier practice: He copied comic panels and later made his own cartoons, developing his drawing skills before beginning more personal work.

Creators and Contributors Mentioned

• Aaron Douglas — Harlem Renaissance painter whose work influences Rashad.
• Rashad — The young artist developing and making the drawings described.
• Mrs. Kapoor Dean — Rashad’s art teacher, who introduced him to Douglas’s work.
• The Family Circus comic strip — An important influence; no individual cartoonist is named in the subtitles.