Noah

Noah
From the Lost Drawings Series by Peter Bogdanov
Charcoal and graphite on heavyweight drawing paper
Before the studios, before the murals, before the legacy was etched into skin and city walls, there was Noah—a calm, curious boa constrictor who curled into the earliest days of Peter and Donna Bogdanov’s life together. More than a pet, Noah was a quiet witness to love’s beginning—an ever-present coil of mystery and warmth in the rhythm of their new marriage.
This drawing captures the snake not in motion but in majesty. Rendered in rich charcoal and sharp graphite, “Noah” isn’t just anatomical—it’s devotional. The sinuous grace of the body, the calm intelligence of the eye, the rhythm of scales all speak to an artist who didn’t just observe his subject—he lived with it, loved it.
Each curve is deliberate, almost musical, the texture of the serpent’s skin drawn with the kind of detail you can only render from memory and closeness. The composition coils inward, like a private story kept safe. There’s no fear here—only respect. Only wonder.
The original drawing, like so many in this series, was lost in the devastating 2024 hurricanes that swept away decades of artwork from Bogdanov’s private archive. But a single high-resolution scan remained—preserved, like a fossilized memory—allowing “Noah” to slither back into view once more.
To collect “Noah” is to cradle a piece of personal mythology. It’s not just about a snake—it’s about the quiet symbols that shape the beginning of a life, the companions we never forget, and the art that remembers for us when the world does not.