Woods and Vice

Following up from the previous post, here's the finished product for Into the Woods. I began my approach with a very traditional color scheme (brown trees, a warm yellow sky, etc), the art direction being only that Red Riding Hood should be composed of rich primary colors. She stayed very much iconic that way, but the picture had been lacking in my estimation until I thought to try out a drastically different color scheme. Now looking at it I like the the juxtaposition of her very "realistic" or worldly colors and the eerie, other worldly quality of the woods.


This is a continuation of the Vice illustration. This is a finished drawing/sketch that I approach each project with. Not a particularly big step, but personally I enjoy the look of the warm reds and the raw quality these drawings have so I thought I would share another one.

More Sketches

Here are a few sketches of upcoming pieces. One for a workshop and our new project was derived from the 7 Deadly Sins and Knightly Virtues. As a whole, the group opted to open up the idea to encompass the concept of Virtue and Vice as a whole. The 1st idea is about the enticements of evil, and so we have a pair of beautiful eyes and hair obscuring the face, with a set of graphic, sharp teeth set over where her mouth would be. The second idea, the one I'm taking to finish, deals with the concept that sin and vice lead to the decay of the soul. The girl's expression and body language are going to show a lazy ennui while the glowing square shape disintegrates and disappears.

This is a sketch for the University of the Arts' production of Into the Woods. I wanted a very classic image for this Sondhiem show that shows the innocence of the play in Riding Hood, and the danger of the woods environment in the looming branch shapes.

Hidden Underneath

This is an idea I've wanted to try out for a while now. It's one that I pitched to a different assignment months ago, but which at the time was a little too conceptual for what the article called for. Originally I saw it as a black and white piece, but it seemed to work a lot better with the red as a sepia. Admittedly, something is bugging me about it. I feel like there should be another element or facet to this piece that's just not there right now. I'm satisfied with the image as it stands but there's something that can push it further. Once I figure that out, maybe I'll share that here.

Self Portrait

Here's the finish for the self portrait I posted sketches of. Granted, it's been said that bird doesn't look anything like me which I can't really ague with but I like it nonetheless. There's a few new elements to the portrait that weren't in the original sketch, like the way the background transitions from night to morning. There's no distinct symbolism I could point to, that might be a little self-important (but what self-portrait doesn't have that ingredient in some measure), but it's a more intuitive way of portraying the Me I think of when there's a Me thinking about how I think of Me...or somesuch

Clive Wearing

This is a piece about Clive Wearing, a British former musicologist who lost his memories of his past as well as his ability to remember anything. I did this after reading a New Yorker article about him by Oliver Sacks that focused on a profile of him but which also went in depth into a discussion of the fact that though he has almost no ability to retain information he still remembers his wife and retains his musical talent. More importantly, in playing music he is able to improvise in a piece and riff off an earlier section, which is evidence that there's still some retention going on in his brain, but only while playing. It's possible that those two passionate loves are buried elsewhere in his brain and weren't affected by the affliction that ripped apart the section of his brain responsible for memory.
His case is interesting to say the least and his life even more so. One of the most compelling sections of the article talked about a journal of sorts that he keeps constantly. Because he has no memory, he has the constant perception of just waking up and so he constantly writes this down in his journal. The book is filled with line after line of grand statements like "I am now FULLY awake" or "I have been dead until NOW."

Self Portraits

As part of a workshop, I'm doing a self portrait that is supposed to, in a way, be representative of my personal viewpoint with regards to art and illustration. One of the key elements of my art is the juxtaposition of non sequitur elements that, though separate, create a mood and atmosphere because of their combination. It's something that I don't often get to express, but wanted it to be a key part of this self portrait. Here are 2 sketches for this portrait, with and without an actual portrait of me.


Update: Here's the final sketch. I enlarged the bird and simplified my tree design. I think it's added more movement without making it some sort of "action piece." Look forward to a finish soon.