Depiction of Honesty

I've heard (quite frequently) that the most effective lie is the one that is laced with truth. Honesty and truth have often proven themselves to be two different things. Truth, even as a concept, is absolute by definition. This has often put some kind of question mark on its assigned virtue in the eyes of many, but, still it remains what it is. Sweet to some. Brutal to others. Honesty, on the other hand, only speaks to how genuine a person is about how or what they relate. At its best, honesty amounts to little more than compromised truth. At its worst, it is a very highly convincing lie. Many people think of honesty as a virtue closely related to truth. But, as has been frequently pointed out, people can be quite honest in what they do or say and still be wrong. They can be honest in their actions with a lie as their motivation. They can be honest in what they say while what they say is completely and totally false. Truth has two basic affects. Liberation or exposure. Honesty has two faces. One brutal, the other endearing. Oddly enough, which face one sees is dependent on one's relation to the truth.

This being said, it seemed quite appropriate that a drawing in black and white should serve as a depiction of honesty. Questions of motive often cloud the perception of it. Honesty is often spoken of, for better or worse, as a powerful thing. So, a very detailed depiction seemed best as detailed drawings have the greatest impact for the type of art that they are. The image of a beautiful woman depicted with some measure of sensuality, yet contemplative and perhaps. . . defensive or a bit withdrawn. . . would be just the right touch to show both faces to whoever might see them. In an attempt to strive for the illusion of great ambient light, a moderate gray tone is the darkest large area of shade. With the exception of a winding dark stripe shown in the reflection of a surfaces that pretend to be chrome, no other tone appears darker than the darkest tone of gray. Her wings are bright for the virtue she's meant and believed by many to represent. In the rest of her form is seen two faces. One endearing and vulnerable. The other, morally compromised and ashamed. And lastly, her name is drawn, borne above her head, to remedy any poor perception of who (or what) she is.