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These Drawings Show Shy Girls Concealing Their True Feelings

How do you draw shy girls? Let them hide behind their hair.

Jacqueline Smith draws shy girls. Operating under the pseudonym Auf Wiedersehen, the Melbourne-based artist chronicles anxious women concealing their feelings. Her ongoing “Shy Girls” portrait series explores the simple defence mechanisms girls use to help cope with anxiety and nervousness—oversized sweaters, strong cups of coffee, and great hair.

What’s remarkable about the portraits is how accurately they communicate the invisible trauma of shyness. The girls are often hunched and huddled, with long bangs obscuring their faces. “Some of the pieces feature physical embodiments of anxiety or sadness too,” Smith tells The Creators Project. “With spirits hanging heavy over the girls, covering their faces and clouding their judgement.”

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The highly detailed renderings of hairstyles are a focal point in the portraits, and they’re key to their emotional power. Originally, Smith drew all the girls with long bangs covering their faces because she found it difficult to draw eyes.

“I couldn't even get the hang of drawing eyes, so when my drawing was almost at a place where I was really happy with it, I'd go in and try to finish it with the eyes and would always feel like I messed it up. So I stopped drawing them,” she says.

Now, the long hair is key to their emotional power—a shield against the world. “My girls are mostly shrouded, or concealed,” says Smith. “I think a lot of feelings of anxiety for me result in wanting to be at home or in a safe place and hidden.”

You can find out more about Auf Wiedersehen here and follow her on Instagram.

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