Did you ever try picking up a razor blade that has fallen to the ground with your bare hand?
The author of this comic... has.
The result was somewhat similar to what you are seeing in panel 2 here.
So yeah, this page thus falls under the category "write what you know", combined with the common comic writing advice that you should let the characters do something interesting while they are having a conversation, to avoid the Talking Heads trope.
As of writing this author commentary, I don't know how realistic it will be within the aforementioned "one to three months in the future" timeframe for Sören to simply visit his cousin* in America. But I wanted him out of the way for this chapter's plot to work.
On the other hand though, this is Sören we are talking about - if buying a plane ticket won't be an option yet, he'll simply take a boat instead!
Also, it seems Tarik and Cleo are still in France. Maybe when COVID-19 arrived in Europe, they decided that they were safest right where they were, due to Babette's folks living so isolated... (But don't worry, they are all well!)
Furthermore, any lockdown notwithstanding, Peter, Kanny and Bettina somehow made it to Crepe Island. ;-)
Thanks again to Dyohna for this cameo opportunity!
And last but not least, there is this totally awesome fanart by Jay042. (Thank you very much, Jay!)
This is actually part of a larger crossover project that he has started to work on...
The eerie association of that painting with blood is... indeed deliberate.
But in a different way.
(Next page we'll learn a bit more about the artist...)
As a very young guy, I did do a drawing with my own blood, too. Usually an age thing, a lot of people did this. Well, there was Arnulf Rainer and finger paintings, too.
Arnulf Rainer tore up his fingers while fingerpainting (canvas does this pretty fast, as I can tell you from experience), so his blood mixed into the color.
can we assume that the third panel is what happens when you try to wipe off all that blood?
or maybe it's "art"But in a different way.
(Next page we'll learn a bit more about the artist...)
But maybe that's why this artist is so pale... ;-)
And after googling them, yes I can definitely see why this might remind you of Arnulf Rainer's finger paintings...