Sketchbook drawing from Flossenbürg KZ- grave marker rubbing of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. March 2016.
Sketchbook drawing from Flossenbürg KZ- the castle ruins in the distance. March 2016.
Following Dietrich’s Footsteps
Work on the project that became The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and The Plot to Kill Hitler, began in 2013 with a very rough outline of the idea in my sketchbook. Five years later, it was finally done. As my research began, I realized that in order to really represent this story properly, I needed to visit Berlin and trace the shadows of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life in person.
Sketchbook drawing at Zionskirche- Where Dietrich served as a pastor in Berlin. March 2016.
Sketchbook drawing from around Berlin. March 2016.
Research in Germany- March 2016
In March 2016, I visited Berlin and drove south to Flossenbürg, a small town on the edge of the Germany/Czech Republic border, home to the concentration camp (KZ) of the same name, where Dietrich was executed in 1945. During my visit, I was drawing constantly- a few of my sketchbook pages are included above. Below, I’ve included some images from significant sites related to Dietrich’s life that I was able to personally visit during my stay.
After my trip, I realized how much of the journey still lay ahead. The research process started and ended with reading. Lots of reading. I created a notebook of visual research, and began the process of writing and visually realizing the concept for the book. From there, I did hundreds of sketches and drawings that started to bring the graphic elements of the book into focus. Final art was done with pencil on paper, then scanned and finalized with color on a Wacom Cintiq drawing tablet.
