This work was inspired by HBO’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s 2006 novel ‘Sharp Objects’.
It was a mini-series following the character of Camille Preaker as portrayed by the incredible Amy Adams. The story is primarily a mystery about (now journalist) Camille's past, and serial murders she's sent to investigate by her employer in her home town.
It's twisted, and I would expect nothing less from the author of 'Gone Girl' (a phenomnal film as well).
The series also features a multitude of talented actors (Patricia Clarkson, etc), who, along with the masterfully directed ambiance, was absolutely beguiling.
I was hooked immediately.
So hooked that I was compelled to create something dedicated to a production that I don’t think got as much recognition or accolades as it should have.
At the time I started this piece, there was no intention to utilize it for a show of any kind.
I was creating this piece solely for myself, and my ridiculous obsession with the show.
I’ll be honest here too.
Before this series, I did not particularly care for Adams in almost anything I’ve seen her in.
She was in my opinion, a decent actress, but was without a vehicle to sway my opinion of her performances.
Opinions change, as it was her performance as Camille in the adaptation that captivated me the most. It was layered, and amazing.
DISCLAIMER:
Now if you are unfamiliar with the show, I’d suggest you not read on, I’ll do my best not to spoil it, but I make no promises!
You’ve been warned.
I knew I wanted to do several vignettes in this piece, similar to my previous works (The DarkCrystal/The Neverending Story), which would require they all be housed in one solid shape.
I decided on using a puddle of ‘liquid’, as it would be the best shape to present the vignettes I had planned that connect to the story.
I also split the image into two parts, utilizing tracks down the middle of the ‘liquid’, as these were intended to represent one of the main characters, and the prevalent use of roller skating in the production.
As for the overall design, the only color fitting for this image was red.
I was also set on using a monochromatic color scheme (yes again, I know it’s becoming a pattern but it just made sense).
With my silhouette created, and colors selected, I needed to find iconic images from the show, that resonated most with me.
I wanted to make sure the illustrations told pieces of the story, in a similar chaotic fashion, as the show unveiled them.
I re-watched the series while taking notes on the various characters, and events that unfolded.
I then determined how I was going to portray these concepts in my work, and how I could portray them symbolically without full representation.
There were a series of pivotal scenes in the show, and portraying them without making it seem cluttered, required some creative designing on my part.
I was able to quickly settle on the interior illustrations, and, if anything, had a dearth of ideas that could easily overwhelm the layout.
I started immediately rendering the images, quickly finishing major pieces in a few hours while I sat at a convention, stopping intermittently to interact with patrons.
I would work on the piece for a few years off and on until I got the fateful call from Gallery 1988 for their collaborative show, Idiot Box.
Idiot Box is probably one of my favorite shows to do at the Gallery, as it allows me to pull from shows I’ve seen on television or cable that have a cult-following.
With this exhibition, I had the perfect excuse, to finish my Sharp Objects illustration.
As luck would have it, I also had recently come across a piece of photography that inspired me.
Seeing as I had hit a creative block with the piece, this photo helped me break through, and also re-energized me.
I had decided to replicate the photo’s layout.
This would lead me to scour the internet for reference photos of the Adams as Camille, in the show.
It was bit more of a challenging task than I realized, but eventually I found the reference I needed.
I redesigned the shape of my layout, and instead, combined the profile portrait of ‘Camille’ I had just completed, with the original liquid idea.
I then had to merge my original works off my iPad onto my Desktop, as the limitations of the aforementioned peripheral (iPad), became abundantly clear the further I progressed.
It was here I realized, I made a huge error in my initial designs on the iPad, in Procreate.
Procreate’s default DPI was 72, not the minimum standard 300 most digital artists use (although I honestly sometimes use upwards of 600).
I didn’t realize this as the illustration was one of my first designs on the iPad.
Apparently, I never bothered to look at the default settings, not that it really mattered, as, at the time, at 300DPI in Procreate, you were savagely limited on layers (like four I think).
Eventually I was going to need to transfer the file over to my desktop for that reason alone.
While it wasn’t a complete loss, it did set me back more than I realized.
All of my original illustrated works were so blurry at the higher DPI, that I was working in.
This required me to have to go back, and digitally repaint them in Corel Painter, to give them the crispness they were lacking.
Since these images were going to be smaller than the overall silhouette containing them, they needed to be very legible (a lesson I learned from my Dark Crystal piece).
After cleaning up the entire image, and the old illustrations, I organized them into the silhouette to establish my final layout.
It was a very difficult process, but eventually I settled upon one that worked best with the imagery I had.
Later, I would add some other imagery breaking the frame of the main silhouette, which connect to the story of the show while still staying within the same color scheme.
After adding new illustrations, and redoing others entirely, I still had some negative space that I needed to fill within the silhouette.
I didn’t want to include more imagery as it would look too cluttered, so instead I opted for one of the more prevailing concepts from the show: words.
Throughout the series, there are multiple hidden words to be found literally everywhere.
They relate primarily to the main character portrayed by Adams, and leave the viewer with so many questions as to their purpose.
I decided I could utilize these in the empty spaces I had, increasing the mystique that permeates the story.
At last I was done, and set about proofing the image, which would take almost a week to perfect, or at least satisfactorily replicate what was on screen.
The main obstacle for me was the words.
I wanted them to be visible, but not so much that they detract from the overall detailed images already present.
Eventually, many proofs later, I found one that worked, and I was happy with.
The illustration is entirely digital, which started in Procreate on the iPad, and then moved over to my desktop. There I detailed the illustration in Painter, and then finally edited it tirelessly in Photoshop.
The piece was originally featured at Gallery 1988 during their annual 'Idiot Box' Show, which ran from September 4th, through September 19th.
Unfortunately, due to the current pandemic, there was no public opening.
The work along with the rest of the shows collaborative pieces, are featured on the gallery’s website.
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
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