Lovely America by

Lovely America

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A series of drawings chiefly concerned with the inner workings of the everyday America: the gruesome, the funny, the serious, the odd.

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Illustration of a building with a large neon display on the roof reading "Shell's Diner"; in the foreground is a parking lot where a pair of roller skates is in each of three spots marked "staff"; the interior of the diner, visible as if a doll-house is bustling; on the side of the building a man smokes
Illustration of the interior of a diner; a pink pastel counter at which two customers sit, angled toward each other, with breakfast behind them; behind them is a server, looking straight out; behind her are plates of food ready to be delivered and a square window into the kitchen where a chef, order tickets, a burger and a stack of toast can be seen
Illustration of two apartment interiors, one atop the other, in one a couple, a man and a woman, lean back on a kitchen counter, talking to one another; in the lower apartment, an almost identical couple lies on top of the bed, each wearing pajamas and looking straight up.
Illustration of three hotel buildings around a pool; the interiors of the hotels are visible, as if doll-houses
Illustration of a brightly-colored room with a sign reading "Spacewhirl Internet Cafe"; most of the frame is filled with people on blocky computers, their screens showing a range of images--porn, piglets suckling at their mother's breast, gun sales, among them--to the right-hand side is a bar, on top of which a man lays down on his belly; behind them the cafe's menu is visible, the offerings including bubble tea in various ludicrous flavors (e.g. "cheddar" and "sugar"), $9 bread, and $1 dumplings
Illustration of a 7-11 counter; a customer, with pastel beanie, sunglasses, full white beard, a striped shirt, jean shorts, and sandals, faces front, holding a slurpee in one hand and cigarettes in the other; behind the counter is an employee in a green polo and blond ponytail; in the background are cigarettes, and to the side of the counter are sundry sweets and other goods.
Illustration of a man and a woman under block text reading "The Satanists of Village East," both wear pastel blazers, sunglasses, and patterned pants; the woman has mint green hair and is holding a cat; the man is mostly bald and touches the woman's arm.
Illustration of two older people walking a small dog
Illustration of three people--two adults and a child--in swimsuits, all have big bellies, and the grown man has a sunburn around the lines of a tank-top
Illustration of two people sitting in bathing suits, behind them stands a man in a pastel polka-dot suit jacket holding a tray of food and two drinks; one of the people sitting reaches up to take the food without looking at the man who is holding it
Two women in pastel outfits sit on pastel benches and hold martini glasses propped on a small, circular table between them
Illustration of four people at a barbecue; the foods they eat or prepare are photographs collaged onto a drawing: one holds a hot dog on a plate, another grills stakes, another sits with a large piece of watermelon, a fourth sits at a table with a hamburger
A collage-like illustrations showing various food products, people of varying genders, ages, and styles, including a series of one person in transition from person to mermaid (or vice versa), an airplane, a swimming pool, beach balls, and text that reads "The Death of Nature"

“These drawings are chiefly concerned with the inner workings of the everyday America: the gruesome, the funny, the serious, the odd. They attempt to depict a lazy but not unenviable satisfaction, as well as a loneliness that is expressly American. We are given quite strict parameters of what we ought to do with and want from life. We are keen on traveling around the world but don’t know our own country well and are indifferent or even disgusted by it. I suppose the subjects of my drawings are, at their core, shameless.”—Fernanda Amis, @famispictures

Images from “Lovely America” were originally published inThe Gallatin Review, volume 34, for which Fernanda Amis was awarded a prize.

 
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