Zahra BRAY
studio art // @zoodles_doodlesModern Cowboy
As a part of my senior project, I am making a comic titled Modern Cowboy. The story is about a 250- year-old cowboy, telling the story of their life to a stranger they picked up at a bus stop. It is an exploration of what it means to be Black and immortal, while also touching on the history of Black cowboys in America. As I was watching The Bikeriders, something in my brain drew a parallel between biker films and Westerns, the theme of the law and the outlaw. So, I imagined a character; an immortal cowboy, someone who lives forever and constantly adapts to a world that changes around them. The story developed after I wrote a monologue for Modern Cowboy during a rewatch of the film, and then started character sketches for Modern Cowboy. I am doing this project because it pushes me out of my comfort zone as a writer and illustrator, I tend to make short and episodic narratives and Modern Cowboy is a 30-page short story. A part of my comic creation process is doing this project analog. I plan to use paper, ink, and screen tones. I favor the hands-on approach when it comes to my artistic practice, I like the control that it gives me. Modern Cowboy is a summation of all that I have learned at school, and it will also be a driving for me to make comics after graduation.