This piece was originally created for Gallery1988’s final show dedicated to a fandom with some serious longevity, Star Trek. The show was set to celebrate the franchise and it’s 60th anniversary, encompassing the original television series, and its multitude of spin-offs.
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| A simple layout and vision for the initial project. |
The show or franchise, is loosely based around the concept of space exploration on a much more advanced and grander scale anyone reading this will likely ever see given the level of technologically depicted on screen. The main objective (or prime directive) in the show is to discover life beyond Earth, one primarily of diplomacy and non-interference. The (first) ship named Enterprise, is run by a captain name James T. Kirk (William Shatner), who is joined by a group of series regulars forming the bridge portion of the show (a main setting).
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| My sketch composite of DeForest Kelley, as Dr. Leonard McCoy, while portraying several other occupations. |
I was pretty familiar with the franchise as my parents watched it religiously, on the only television in the house. The show was in syndication, and managed to garner an even larger fanbase long after it was cancelled. It would go on to produce several films, and even a documentary about it’s fanbase. Once again, the issue with tackling a subject like Star Trek which has been around almost twice as long as the last project, there’s also A LOT of artwork dedicated to it. Likes oodles. Tons.
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| 'Inked' version of DeForest Kelly, as Dr. Leonard McCoy, masquerading as various other skilled professions. |
I spent some time attempting to come up with a lucrative idea, but my deadline was looming, so, I pivoted to an idea I had based off a t-shirt I owned. The shirt depicted a black graphic stylized image of Alfred Hitchcock wearing sunglasses while holding a boombox. It’s such a strange juxtaposition that it gave me an idea.
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| Close up of Deforest Kelley as Dr. Leonard McCoy, well..you get it by this point. |
In the show, there are several characters aboard the ship that they live on, however only a few main cast members are ever really introduced to us. One character in particular always spoke a language I truly understood, sarcasm, and that was none other than the incredible Doctor Leonard McCoy (as played by DeForest Kelley), or ‘Bones’ as he was often referred to. In the show there was a running joke, in which Dr. McCoy would often be placed in a situation he was not prepared nor skilled for. His response would almost always include a reminder that he was ‘..a doctor...”, and most certainly not whatever it was he was being asked to do at the time. I always found it funny, so I wanted to capture this in some way.
I decided, that much like the Alfred Hitchcock example from above, I could perhaps ironically design McCoy with different accessories or clothing that told a different story than what his rebuttals were trying to convey. I also wanted to keep the image graphic, but as I progressed through the piece, I realized without color it was just going to look unfinished. I also had the challenge of how I was going to incorporate a way of explaining the image and each of the items McCoy was wearing.
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| Second panel featuring a brick...and a trowel, plus lots of pretty stars. |
I first started by determining how I was going to alter his appearance in order to portray all the different occupations he’s been saddled with. I went through a list of quotes from the show, and picked out the ones that would be an easy enough read. I made sure to give his attire a look that reflected the era the show was filmed (even though it’s set in the future, the abundant 1970’s production values cannot be ignored). Sadly, I couldn’t get all of the ‘occupations’ into the image, but I think it was successful overall.
The next task was creating enough contrast from the background and my now inked graphic version of the actor. I determined I was going to have to fill him in with color, which was not initially planned for, given the design, it shouldn’t be that arduous. I decided to offset him with the official logo design that all the characters from the show wear to give the layout a bit more complexity. I then made a creative decision, and used the negative space within him to house some stars. Creatively this was a great idea, but the execution proved to be tedious as I had to painstakingly go in and clean up the overflowing ‘stars’ that ran into the positive space of the image.
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| The third panel which can't be missed, featuring a pocket, and wrench. |
With my illustration complete, it was still lacking the context needed to be fully realized. I thought about how I could incorporate some text into the image to relay my piece’s overall concept, and then came up with the idea (based on of something I was doing at work), to use some diagonal lines. I used the primary colors from my palette, and faded them slowly in to the background as to not distract too much from the main image. I’m still not entirely sure how successful the outcome was, but it did accomplish what I intended.
I started the image on February 1st, 2026, and finished it on March 29th, 2026…it was due on March 27th, and I was also at a convention that started the 27th…it was a rough one. I spent approximately eleven (11) hours, and fourteen (14) minutes sketching the image, followed by another thirteen (13) hours, and twenty-five (25) minutes inking it. The painting process itself took fifteen (15) hours, and eight (8) minutes, with a final twelve (12) hours, and eight (8) minutes adding the stars, and editing the piece, totaling in at fifty-two (52) hours, and eight (8) minutes.
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| Final 11" x 14" image on display sarcastically sympathizing with you the whole time. |
The 11” x 14” image (printed on White Pearl Linen, thank you SGX), was made for Gallery1988’s ‘Star Trek 60th Anniversary’, a group show honoring the franchise and it’s longevity which opened online April 7th, 2026, as part of their final (official) exhibition. At this time the prints are exclusively available via the gallery, so please check their website for all remaining works related to the 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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