Flying Saucers

IF (Illustration Friday) 11/28/14, the topic was Wobble.  The concept for this topic came to me pretty easily, but it's somewhat of a stretch in correlating to the term (at least I think so).  That being said, this piece is one that I have been toying with creating for some time, as it represents to me, a lot of what many people today (myself included), go through on a daily basis, multitasking.  This piece represents the struggle with multitasking, and for many, the difficulty with focusing ones attention where it needs to be, where it wants to be, where it has to be, where it should be; the many obligations of modern life, the desire to keep things in motion, and the exasperation of reality when it all comes crashing to the ground.  While technology has made some of the tasks of daily life easier, it has also made finding time to just simply sit, relax, unplug, and finish that morning cup of coffee before the next text/email or phone call arrive a luxury of the past.  This piece is entirely digital done in Painter with some manipulations done in Photoshop.

Slow Burn

IF (Illustration Friday) 11/21/14, the topic was Slow.  This topic wasn't an easy one to visualize, so I took a more literal approach.  I was originally going to spell out the word using snails, or 'slow' things/objects by fitting them within the letter shapes themselves.  I even completed one illustration, but was ultimately unhappy with it, so I scrapped it and decided to pursue the concept that you see here.  I'm not sure at how successful I was in capturing what is wood-burning (having never done it myself), but I think if anything there are some aspects that came across really well. I would have liked to pour more time into the last couple IF's but I have been busy with other projects and personal obligations as well (it's that time of year).  The piece is entirely digital done in Painter.

Into the Woods

IF (Illustration Friday) 11/14/14, the topic was Theater.  This topic wasn't particularly challenging, but it also wasn't very inspiring. I decided for this one, to do a piece representing the only piece of theatrical work I have ever had the pleasure to have been involved in (I painted some background sets for a College production).  Ironically that happened to be 'Into the Woods', which next month is being released as a major motion picture.  I wanted to attempt capturing all the major players of the play, so each one is somewhat represented here in this piece.  I'm not entirely fond of this illustration, but there are parts of it that I do enjoy.  The piece is entirely digital done in Painter.

Smooth Sailing

IF (Illustration Friday) 10/31/14, the topic was Smooth.  This topic was difficult for me, as I had no clue what to illustrate.  I went through so many drafts I can't even recall everything I came up with for this one.  It was hard in terms of associating the topic with the illustration (I like to have at least a moderate recognition or link between both the topic and what I've decided to illustrate).  I came to this final incarnation when I decided I was going to illustrate a sailboat, but wanted to portray it in a manner that fit my style.  It was then I decided to illustrate Captain Hook's ship the Jolly Roger from Disney's Peter Pan sailing through the sky to Neverland.  I'm particularly fond of this illustration as I wanted to capture the boat, and all the children (Pan and the Lost Boys included), sailing off through the sky.  Originally I was going to include Big Ben in the illustrate but decided instead to simply portray the "Second Star to the right", that Pan tells the children Neverland is located.  It's a simple illustration but effective, and I think it captures the spirit of what I intended.  The piece is entirely digital done in Painter.

UPDATE 3/26/18:
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Smooth Sailing