SHADOWS OF CARMILLA/ Bazal. 8,3x11,7 in. Ballpoint.

"Between love and the grave."

Bazal continues his exploration of the female figure as a symbol of duality and resilience, using only the ballpoint pen to extract a tonal richness comparable to that of classical engraving. His free yet controlled strokes pay homage to the Gothic literary tradition—from Le Fanu to Poe—without abandoning the contemporary aesthetics of modern illustration. The result is an introspective work, where technique becomes atmosphere and line a metaphor for memory.

In this haunting ballpoint portrait, Ángel Bazal reimagines Carmilla through a lens of gothic stillness and poetic melancholy. The setting — an ancient cemetery veiled in quiet shadows — becomes a stage where beauty and decay coexist. Every stroke of the pen shapes her solitude with precision: the delicate tension between fragility and power, serenity and temptation. Bazal’s mastery of tone and texture gives the composition a sculptural depth rarely achieved with so humble a tool. This Carmilla is not a monster but a memory — the echo of desire suspended between darkness and dawn.

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