Thankfully inspiration struck quick and early when I discovered HBO’s adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘The Outsider’. A (sadly), one season mini-series wrapped loosely around several urban legends and myths that were cleverly used to create our antagonist in the show. The series stars several familiar faces such as: Jason Bateman, Bill Camp, Jeremy Bobb, Mare Winningham, Paddy Considine, Yul Vazquez, Ben Mendelson, Julianne Nicholson, Marc Menchaca, Cynthia Errivo, Derek Cecil, Hettienne Park, Scarlett Blum, and Summer Fontanna, among many others. The performances are nothing less than award worthy, as the cast navigatea the aftermath of a series of tragic events.
The story itself is difficult to explain without giving away too many details, however, there are several abductions (of children), all of which are linked to a being that feasts on the misery and death. Upon learning of its intentions our cast seeks to destroy this creature, who they believe may the source behind many other legendary creatures (El Coco/The Boogeyman/Doppleganger/etc), and eventually dub the entity, ‘Tear-Drinker’.
I was inspired by the show early on, so I already had a layout for a potential illustration, I simply needed to see if my concept would work. Satisfied with the sketch, I began collecting reference material for the image. I wanted to create a narrative piece that told the story of this creature and how it had infected so many lives. The plan was to centrally place the entity and surround it with various vignettes related to its transgressions. Each locale was picked specifically for its contribution to the overall plot with a small scene depicting Blum, Nicholson, and Fontanna, our antagonist’s current victims. The van, and the (snake) blood trail also play an important role in the show, balancing the piece with a strip of contrasting red.
I went with a monochromatic scheme for this image to reflect the hues used in the series. I also wanted to try implementing a strong contrasting element (the red), in order to push the image and keep the eye moving. Whenever I am developing a piece that has a lot of detail or imagery, I try to simplify the color to offset how cluttered it can become. This usually works out successfully, and I would like to think it does here as well. My only other concern for this piece, beyond the transformative natures of blending from one scene to the next, was to create the illusion in some parts of reversing the foliage. My goal was to make the leaves feel like they could be either black or a shade of green depending on how they are perceived to create a lattice effect.
Upon completing the work I sent it to my pals at SGX, and went through the process of proofing the image. Unfortunately, the process took at least three passes before I could get the colors correct on it which is truly maddening. Eventually, I got it sorted out and sent it to the gallery, but it was very time consuming.
Typically, that’s where the story ends, but the Post Office had other plans for my work…namely destruction. That’s right! A few days after shipping the framed image, and accompanying prints I received a rather startling email from the curator at the gallery. Apparently the (glass) frame was in like a million pieces, and the prints while salvageable, were also slightly damaged.
I made two mistakes here that I would like to take responsibility for instead just simply outright blaming the Post Office for blatant carelessness (which is obvious).
The first was that I mailed my work on September 4th, which was a Saturday.
The gallery is closed on Monday, and Tuesday, therefore I KNEW my work was going to arrive on a day in which someone would not be present. This means it will likely be re-delivered, increasing the likelihood it could be mishandled.
The second being I did NOT package the work very well and was concerned it was going to be a problem when I mailed it. It was tightly bound, but it was also very awkwardly shaped. I did write the words ‘Fragile’, ‘Handle with Care’, and ‘Contains Glass’, but I’m assuming that was largely ignored.
Thirdly (consider it a bonus), I did NOT insure the package. Thankfully it did have a complimentary $50 insurance which I ended up eventually collecting (which wasn’t easy, but that’s a different story).
Seeing my work ruined was devastating. Not because it was irreplaceable, but because I would need to procure more images, another frame, and somehow get the piece to the gallery before the show. This is anxiety inducing for literally anyone, BUT, thankfully I was able to pull if off with the help of SGX. They quickly produced more prints for me, and I was able to get the work to the gallery before the show.
I started this piece on January 22nd, 2020* and finished it September 1st, 2021, spending seventy one and half (71.5) hours in Procreate with some editing done in Adobe Photoshop before printing. The work was originally due September 11th, 2021 with the show opening on September 24th, 2021 at Gallery1988, and running until October 9th as part of their ‘Idiot Box’ exhibit (dedicated to television series from 2001 and up). Each print is 12” x 18” and is printed on white pearl linen. At this time, the piece is exclusively available via the gallery, so please check their website for all remaining works related to the show including mine.
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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.
*The show aired in 2020, and I developed the sketch at the time it was airing. I already had another piece lined up for the show that year which was ironically another HBO miniseries that I had started but never completed.
I didn’t get back to this illustration until sometime in either July or August of 2021.
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