Neverland

This show was added after the normal invitationals, and I was glad I could fit it into my schedule. The gallery’s theme for this exhibit was ‘The Masters’, and was to focus on the following four iconic film directors: (Francis Ford) Coppola, (Martin) Scorsese, (Steven) Spielberg, and (Quentin) Tarantino. I’ve seen a lot of the films these directors have created, but pinpointing a film to focus on was going to be a challenge.

 

I started by breaking down which films I had seen, liked, or were available to watch/rewatch on some kind of streaming platform I already owned. I own some of the films which helps makes the process a little faster. Regardless, I watched several films from these directors, and more so over the course of this last year prior to the show’s announcement. I eliminated Scorsese, and Coppola quickly as their films were not readily available for viewing (also, Scorsese’s films are LONG, and not always my jam). I grew up watching Spielberg, and Tarantino films, so I began to reflect on what was available, revisiting those selections, and seeing what resonated with me.

 

Initial sketch of Neverland.

 

It was while watching Spielberg’s ‘Hook’ that inspiration struck. The film is follow-up of sorts to the story of ‘Peter Pan’, and explores what happened to ‘Peter’, ‘Wendy’, and the rest of the ‘Lost Boys’. As with any Spielberg film, it showcases a roster of extreme talent, featuring: Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith, Charlie Korsmo, and Amber Scott.

Having already done a related piece, I was reluctant to approach the subject matter again, however, I felt that I could take the piece further capitalizing on the former. I took a similar approach, but this time I decided I was going to develop the image of ‘Neverland’, as we see it in the film.

 

This was a bit challenging, and required multiple reviewing’s, alongside research on the internet, and a lot of guessing. The images in the film are primarily matte paintings, and while beautifully done, they do little to give a concrete idea of the realm’s structure. Most of the scenes depicting the environment are brief, and it’s almost impossible to pin down direction, lighting, or time of day in most of them.

 

Sketches of Neverland, and London, ready for inking, and color.

 

I knew that stylistically; I was going to be working graphically given the silhouettes I had planned for the London skyline that would serve as my illustration’s base. I wanted to stay within the same realm visually, so I opted to use color as my transitional element. My palette was also predetermined, as in the film we are given a shot of ‘Neverland’ and its spectacular colors as we, the viewers, are brought into it. It’s also from this shot that I drew my inspiration from. In the scene, as we ‘enter’ Neverland, we draw ever closer to the ‘second star on the right’, and it begins to expand or almost explode into a cosmic light show that fades with us entering this new fantastical realm.

 

With my ideas and reference shots gathered, I began sketching my initial concept out on my iPad Pro, in Procreate. In some cases, the sketches began a little more detailed than necessary, but sometimes, in order for to eliminate guess work later, I will ‘map-out’, an objects form more accurately.

It’s a gamble sometimes.

Upon completing the sketching process, which lasted roughly thirteen (13) hours and thirty seven (37) minutes, I began to apply some color to the background.

As stated previously I had my color palette in mind, so I simply went to town painting some clouds, and using a few texture brushes to create the cosmos. The two stars were also created using a texture brush to set the apart from the ones I added manually to the background with the Round Brush.

 

Once I had the background laid in, I moved onto filling in the details, and form of both the London cityscape, and Neverland. I would end up spending an additional forty-three (43) hours and two (2) minutes painting the landscape of Neverland, and London.
Once down, I brought the image into Adobe Photoshop, and started to adjust the layout/contrast a bit to make sure it was legible. I took some parts of the background and added a bit of a blur to smooth out any hard edges the filter brushes would have made during use. The editing process took me a bit longer than anticipated, at  five (5) hours and twenty-six (26) minutes. I was however more than happy to send it off to proof so I could move onto a new image if nothing else, lol.

 

Final unedited image before adding Peter, Jack, Maggie, and cropping both Neverland & London.

 

Unfortunately, the initial proof was pretty lackluster…if anything it was just a really boring image.

The colors were fantastic, but it was missing something.

I then went back into Photoshop, and tinkered with the scale, and cropping of the landscapes. While I really wanted to depict the entirety of Neverland, we as the viewer never entirely explore the world, and therefore, what lives there is ultimately, irrelevant when paying homage to the film. Basically, anything we didn’t see in the film was not necessary to depict. The results I think created a much more interesting scene. I also had to correct a few problems regarding legibility as some of the elements were hard to read. The only problem I realized is, it lacked any elements of implied movement as it was very static given the subject matter, and I determined that I could add a few of the characters flying around the perimeter of the images as a fix. I selected Peter, Jack, and Maggie, to portray, as they are the only ‘travelers’ to Neverland we see flying in most of the film.

With this added element, the piece finally seemed to come alive. I then sent it off for one more proofing to make sure it all read well.

 

Final edited image to include characters, and a closer look at Neverland.

 

Thankfully the second proof came back looking fantastic. The first proof I used 100lb Cover, and on this second proof I decided to try the White Pearl Linen, which proved to be the better option. It really gave the colors a boost in vibrancy which was really what I wanted. I am also a bit conflicted on the choice, as I had a really great idea very late in the game (for ‘Kill Bill’), and had my docket not already been so full, I would have been more than happy to develop the other piece as well for the gallery. Alas, it will live in the orphanage for now.

 

I started the image on March 27^th, 2024, and finished it on April 21^st, 2024, spending approximately sixty-two (62) hours, and thirty-five (35) minutes developing the image from start to finish.

Final 14" X 11" image on White Pearl Linen.

The 14” x 11” image (printed on white pearl linen thank you SGX), was made for Gallery1988’s ‘The Masters’, a group show dedicated to a quartet of prolific film directors, which opened June 7^th, 2024. 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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