Abere, the CanniBal Demoness

The Myth of Abere

Abere is a cannibal demoness from Melanesian folklore, whose name means “Maiden.” She appears to be a beautiful young woman, but this is just an illusion hiding the terrifying reality. This powerful seductress lives in the marshes with a retinue of female attendants. She lures men into the water, entrancing them with her beauty. 

Men who are foolish enough to take the bait become prey to Abere and her companions. Using her feminine charms, she compels the men to follow her into the water, shedding her garments as she slips between the mimia reeds.

Abere then uses her power to command the reeds to grow up around the men, pulling them under the surface until they are hopelessly tangled and trapped. She then drowns and cannibalizes her victims.

Melanesians

The Melanesians are an indigenous people of the South Pacific, inhabiting an area from New Guinea to the Figi Islands. They have a rich and diverse culture, which of course includes mythology. Their appearance is quite unique in contrast with their nearest neighbors.

Many Melanesians have dark skin and pale blonde hair. Despite previous assumptions that this was a result of their colonization by France, Britain and the Netherlands, recent studies have found that their unique hair color is due to a random genetic mutation.

The Artwork

This is another drawing that came out of the now-defunct Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School sessions back in 2018. Like the Vodou death spirit Maman Brigitte, this one was inspired by the inimitable force that is Vancouver burlesque goddess Melody Mangler.

I remember this session vividly because it was a couple of weeks before Christmas and I arrived late. The room was packed so I had to squeeze into a table with another group of people.

As I struggled out of my coat and started arranging my drawing supplies, I was glad I had braved the frigid December rain to come out. Melody was one of my favorite models at Dr. Sketchy’s and she definitely didn’t disappoint that night.

At least three of my drawings from this session ended up in my Badass Goddesses book! Here are a few that didn’t, along with the poses that inspired them.

The sketch above was probably a five-minute pose, which is not very long at all when you’re trying to capture an entire person in a fabulous (if sparse) costume.

The three-hour sessions would start out with several warm-up sketches of one minute (in full costume), then progress to two minute poses, then five.

A couple of 10-minute poses, then an intermission and a burlesque strip tease performance would follow. Finally, the model would return for a couple of longer poses to wrap up the night, usually 15-20 minutes each.

Process and materials

I always packed light to go to these drawing sessions, carrying a 9x12 sketchbook and about a dozen pencils in varying degrees of hardness. I prefer anything between #2 and #8, with #8 being the softest and darkest. Anything softer than that and I end up making a charcoaled mess of the page.

I would try to get as much of the drawing complete as I could during the session, then finish them at home over the next few days. I would ink the final drawings and erase all the extraneous “hesitation” lines so they were nice and clean.

Then would scan them in and “paint” them in Photoshop, adding layers, details and backgrounds.

Late Adopter

As hard as this may be to believe, the first several years I went to Dr. Sketchy’s, I didn’t have a cell phone, so I had to rely on my swift drawing skills to capture what I could in the moment.

In those early days, there was often a professional photographer in attendance, so the artists were discouraged from taking pictures. Photos from every session were published on the Dr. Sketchy’s website, but they were rarely from the same angle as my drawings, so their usefulness as reference material was limited.

A few years later, though, half the audience was taking pictures and many were drawing directly on iPads or other tablets.

By December 2018, I had joined the 21st century and bought a phone so I always took a few pictures at every session, which I referenced to finish my drawings.

Broken Record

I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again. I really miss Dr. Sketchy’s! It was such a great way to spend an evening, and the art that resulted from those sessions was awesome.

These days, it takes a lot of discipline to force myself to create a drawing a day for a challenge like Inktober or Drawcember. I’d much rather go out to a restaurant once a month, eat and drink, socialize with other artists and spend three full hours drawing some exciting, glamorous performer in an elaborate, badass costume.

I know, I know… Times change. But hey, it took me a decade to cave and buy a cell phone like everyone else! Hopefully one day I’ll find another drawing class that inspires me the same way Dr. Sketchy’s did.

Actually, screw that… I want to be inspired in a new, even better way. That’s my wish to the universe.

Until Then…

Check out my RedBubble shop to find Abere, the Melanesian cannibal demoness, on coasters, clothing, phone cases, notebooks and much more!

Order my self-published Amazon book, Badass Goddesses in paperback, hard cover or Kindle format.

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