Stiles of Art: February 2022

Monday, February 28, 2022

SLEEPWALKERS

This image was inspired by Gallery1988’s ‘30 Years Later: Movies from 1992’. Now based on the title of this blog entry I think the ‘cat’ is out of the bag on which film I chose during this year. With that in mind, I did toy with the idea of doing a piece on some other favorites of mine from this era, like: Basic Instinct, Poison Ivy, Death Becomes Her, Raising Cain, or perhaps even Candyman. I love all those films, so they made my short list but when it came down to envisioning what I was going to be creating, Stephen King’s ‘Sleepwalkers’, spoke to me the loudest.

originally the centerpiece also featured the barn-like adjacent garage.

I set about locating the film (which I had to purchase, it came with Children of the Corn btw a steal IMO), and procuring reference for what I already had in mind. Thankfully this one came together instantly, and I was able to produce exactly what I had intended, which can be a real challenge. The piece is basically a narrative of the film which isn’t very complicated for a King story (the first of which was not based on an existing novel).

This was my original concept for the background behind the 'mist'.

Whenever I do works that are based on existing work, I try to find at least a few elements from the original, to connect it to the piece I’m working on. In this case I knew that my imagery selection would differ enough from the original poster and cover design, that it would be easier to relate the works by sharing a color palette. Procreate has this awesome feature which allows you to take a photo or image and create a color palette from it. Utilizing this feature, I began to select my main colors as I wanted this piece to stay rather monochromatic, or within the same color family. I chose colors that I thought would contrast the most and set about working. Initially I had a background that was more of a gradient, with a very hot pink at the top, and an indigo at the bottom. Eventually I went for a solid look, and I even had some imagery I was planning on placing in the background subtly, but ultimately, it all competed too much with the main illustration.

For the layout of this piece I knew I wanted to have our female lead, ‘Tanya Robertson’ (played delicately by ‘Twin Peaks’ alumni Mädchen Amick), at the base of this dreamy nightmare. Without giving away too much about the story, the ‘Sleepwalkers’ feed on the life essences of their target and draw it out of them through their mouths in the form of a purple-like light that looks like a mix between a beam and vapor. I took some liberties with its portrayal here as it comes pouring from ‘Tanya’s’ beguiled lips. I used this as a framing device, something I love to do with my work. It can be challenging, but my greatest feat in any work like this is the transformative nature, and fluidity of a story’s narrative. As I continued to form the image I had some space to work with, and determined that the house of dotting ‘Charles Brady’ (the dashing Brian Krause pre-Charmed), and his mother ‘Mary Brady’ (as played by the multi-talented Alice Krige). I originally drew the garage as well but I chose to edit it out so that I could increase the house’s size for legibility. I also knew I needed to include the ‘Brady’s’ somewhere for context, as they do appear in the film quite frequently. Once I completed rendering the ‘Brady’s’, I set about including ‘Charles’’ sweet ride(s), and of course ‘Clovis’ to cap the piece. There are also a few other elements, but I would recommend you watch the film, as explaining the nature would ruin some of the fun, but...

WARNING: it features a lot of cats, and some violence against them, so if that’s not your thing, skip it.

With the illustration done, I needed to get it printed, and unfortunately, I did not have time to properly proof them. I sent them off to my correspondent at SGX, and picked them up shortly after, as my deadline was quickly approaching. I’m still not entirely sure if the image is too dark or not, but I had to move on and overall I was pleased with it.

The 12” x 18” image was limited to a run of 11, on white pearl linen paper and featured as part of Gallery 1988’s ’30 Years Later: Movies from1992’. The show originally ran from March 19^th, 2022- April 2^nd, 2022. Please check the gallery’s website for all available works related to show, including mine.

For more information, or to see a catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here. You can also find me on various social media platforms below doing a multitude of other artistic things that include hand lettering, and the occasional sculpting, crafting or painting.

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Monday, February 21, 2022

SKETCH CARDS 4 (5x5)

Anyone who knows me, knows that I rarely if ever work traditionally anymore, but occasionally I make exceptions. In this case, that exception was Hero Complex Gallery’s ‘Sketch Cards 4’. The theme from the gallery was simple enough, and asked that we focus on pop culture related content.

'Spider-Man', 5"x 5" Sketch Card

The gallery provided me the cards along with all the packing materials to return them, of course that was after I requested them (my bad). This would naturally put me behind schedule, as the cards arrived a few days later, and I was juggling multiple projects plus an upcoming convention. With no shortage of work I had plenty to do while waiting for the cards to arrive. I received several of the standard 2.5” x 3.5” cards, and some of the larger 5” x 5”. I was immediately intimidated by the smaller cards so I put those away as I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to ever use them. I do like to work small, but I think the possibility of making a mistake weighed on me…not sure. I gathered the larger cards and began sketching some ideas on my iPad. For each image I provided a scene along with the character I chose. I also selected the content with extreme personal prejudice, as these are still some of my favorite television characters. I felt that I was only doing fan service with the Spider-Man piece, the rest were all passion-projects for me.

'Milhouse Wigs-Out', 5" x 5" Sketch Card

Thankfully the sketches I did earlier helped me figure out most of the structure ahead of time, and I was able to quickly produce the images using tonal markers in lieu of color. I would have liked to use color but due to time constraints, it just wasn’t feasible. The cards were due on the 31^st of December, and I somehow managed to get them out to the gallery on Christmas Eve (in a very empty Post Office), which was cutting it close. A theme of this month and several projects.

'Ralph Wiggum's Big Day', 5" x 5" Sketch Card

This was my first time working on sketch cards, and I enjoyed it overall. Even if I didn’t follow directions. Apparently, if I would have read the email detailing the show, I would have known that the standard cards were for the show, not the 5” x 5” cards. Those were for ‘5” x 5” Fridays’, a feature the gallery was looking to highlight. I was deeply embarrassed, and the gallery was very gracious about it. Thankfully I would have another opportunity, as the cards came with an insert detailing the next show which in August of 2022.

'Zim fails to remember Phase 2', 5" x 5" Sketch Card

I started these sketch cards sometime in the middle of December 2021, and completed them on December 24^th, 2021, spending varying amounts of time on each illustration. Overall, I’d say each card took me anywhere between two, to three hours, with perhaps one or more taking me a bit longer (like that damned leprechaun on Ralph’s shoulder). The cards were due on December 31^st, 2021, with the show opening on February 26^th, 2021. All the sketch cards measure in at 5” x 5”, and are all one of a kind, exclusively available at Hero Complex Gallery. Please check the gallery’s website for availability, and any other remaining works related to the show including mine.