Original DA Upload Date: March 18, 2021
Another several-years-later Grunvale artwork, set around the same time as the New Year’s artwork.
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Four years later, 12-year-old Abby Lowry has become unnaturally tall at a height of 6’6″/198cm, towering over her already-tall 15-year-old siblings August (6’4″/193cm) and April (6’1″/185cm). Nicknamed “The Smoke Pillar” by her peers, she is the star player of Davis Junior High’s basketball team, and is also following in her late father’s footsteps as a musician, mainly inspired by soft-rockers of the 1980s like Phil Collins and Richard Marx, as well as bands like Foreigner and REO Speedwagon. When 15-year-old Gilda Grime hears that this is Abby’s favorite era of music, she of course takes it upon herself to introduce the big little Lowry to everything the 1980s has to offer in terms of pop culture, and the two quickly befriend each other over their love of this most radical era of history.
By the way, don’t expect a Gilda and Abby friendship to happen in the main chronology of Grunvale. Abby during the main chronology is a bit of a bully that takes any opportunity she gets to insult the Tetrad and August. It’s only during the four years between then and this piece that she matures and actually starts being friendly, accepting, and even a participant in their antics. Oh, and I will never write her to be LGBT-phobic. Even at age eight, she is well aware and accepting of April being a lesbian and August being a cross-dresser. Even bullies have standards, and LGBT-phobia is where Abby draws the line.
Now to the piece!
You’ve seen 15-year-old Gilda and April before in the aforementioned New Year’s piece. Let’s just talk about the characters whose aged-up versions debut here.
I thought it’d be fitting that, after dressing somewhat conservatively during his pre-teen years, August’s aesthetic would take a turn for the emo in his teenhood, complete with him growing his hair out and wearing eyeliner as part of his usual attire. It seems like a natural evolution for him. I myself wore my hair short up until I was 14, and have since worn it… pretty much as long as I do now. I’m not as extreme as I used to be with hair, though. Long-time followers may know that I used to wear my sideburns all the way down my face, like Joe Cocker or Ray Dorset. I… I guess you could call that my rebellious phase, heheh. And adopting an emo aesthetic is August’s rebellious phase!
As for Abby, I’ve had the idea in my head for a while that she ends up even taller than her already six-foot-plus siblings. She’s already as tall as 11-year-old Margo at age eight, and since August and April are already pretty far-along in puberty at age 11, I thought it’d make sense for Abby to be an early bloomer as well. Fun fact, the Lowry kids being early bloomers is autobiographical. I hit puberty so early, that at age 12, I had so much leg hair that one of my peers told me I should shave my legs. And Abby’s height situation is something I relate to as well; I’m also the tallest of my siblings despite being the youngest.
Anyhoo, since I love and am even part of the trope of the youngest/smallest of the bunch eventually becoming the biggest, I’ve written it into Abby’s character. Yeah, I know six-foot-six is tall for an adult, let alone a 12-year-old. But you know what? I love the idea of Abby being insanely tall. It adds a lot to her character, both narratively and comedically.
Not much else to add, other than me addressing the minimalistic Rita Hayworth image in the background. I was bound to reference Gilda the movie in Grunvale eventually, and you know it.
That’s all… you know the rest.
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Grunvale is owned by me. You’re free to draw fanart of it, as long as you link me to it.
Gilda is owned by Sony through Columbia Pictures.
This artwork was made at a resolution of 2160×2880 (aspect ratio 2.35:1).
The Gallery of Stormy Adler 