Rose Marie Promotional Flyer

Back in April I worked for a local Opera Production Company for their theatrical feature "Rose Marie".
Amongst the art done for the production [like the stage prop totem pole], the promotional flyer was also designed by myself. I decided to approach it in a very different stylized manner to help reflect the more contemporary edge the Opera was set in. :)

Wish Opera

On April 29th, the Opera "Rose Marie" debuted. I had the AMAZING pleasure of working on the production with some insanely talented people... and now that it's over, I wanted to post a visual process of creation; I summarized my carving of the Totem Pole stage prop from start to finish.



Working for the theater is the most stunning experience for me; as I said before, I am an avid traditionalist, and the theater is truly the setting for the classic arts... also demanding a different thought process and approach then most media. This totem pole is a perfect example of that- because I had to construct what would appear to be a pole made of wood, but factually an impossible task to be done in the short period of time I had. Foam was the perfect solution- I could work on every figure independently, and also care to make the cuts in the foam look like wood.

Funny when we attended the actual opera, we were so taken aback we actually forgot to take a picture while watching it unfold... so lucky me that the production staff actually did. :)



That's 10 feet of foam right there folks.

Godric- Meeting the Light

Originally this was a Birthday Portrait for Allan Hyde (Actor who plays Godric), which was drawn out on a Canson board roughly 16" x 20".

I had saved the picture until I was notified that the gift was delivered... I originally posted this on my birthday, earlier this year.

Smirky Wolf

I was doing some animal caricatures a while back, and liked this one in particular.
Certainly not an evil fellow, but I wouldn't trust him in a game of cards. :)

Good Words

One of the short films I have in the works.
“Good Words” is a short film that speaks about many issues in one- from conservation of our environment, as well as diversity of culture.
The audio is actually the opening to “500 Nations”... a documentary produced and release in the light of the “Dances with Wolves” phenomena. While I cannot obtain the rights to the audio, I intended to produce this short anyways… more as an exercise in animation, as well as voicing a personal opinion bout our current state of environmental affairs.

I am still working on this short as we speak- and am working with a friend of mine as well. I'm hoping to complete it within the next few months. :)

Star Wars Tarot- The Fool

For those who thought I had forgotten about this series: I haven’t. :)

This is the latest submission for my “Star Wars tarot” deck project I have been working on.

I think this one was an obvious decision, as I even had some people inquire if Jar Jar would be the candidate for "The Fool". I had already picked him way back in the day, but having people confirm this with their opinions made me sure of my decision even more.

Like the originals “Fool” Card, Jar Jar is aloof and seemingly unaware of the danger that lurks right around the corner- however I substituted the cliff with the war-tank behind him. The green and watery landscape of Naboo help build that contrast to the “foreboding” dark base color the card is illustrated on- and even the sky changes color from a serene blue, to a wild yellow. A card of “innocent ignorance wile inobservance” is the main criteria, and Jar Jar’s bright body color and jolly detached attitude plays the part really well.

Circle of Crows

Commission for client.

She wanted to have one of three dreams illustrated in the NWP style, and I told her I would only if they wouldn’t break any taboo or infringe on cultural concepts. Lucky that after I reviewed what she wanted, nothing out of the ordinary appeared!

This was the one I wanted to do the most- simply because of the clarity of the image in my head, and the concept within it:

I was taken by the description of all the crows harassing the mother for food, and the mother trying to chide her son into calming down.
I am fond of the archetypes of Protectors, and I wanted to really have that element encompassed in the image with the Motherhood theme. But I also love the symbolic correlation to the birds, and that connection to nature. So I depicted a mother clearly relaxed and "smiling" with one hand up (the palm face forward is a sign of peace and welcome), second hand around her baby who is crying. This symbol is one of motherhood, and motherhood compassion and protection. A common motif in Aboriginal art.
Second, the ring of crows all around the mother- this visually helps that feeling of foreboding the child feels because of being encompassed by so many birds, but the relaxed figure of the mother puts the viewers mind at ease. Also, the birds are not foreboding, and their beaks- while open- not gaping wide... they are also seemingly making a pattern similar to rays of light off the Sun… and almost look like they too are protecting the mother, as opposed to serious threat.

It was a lovely commission with a really great product at the end, and both of us were very satisfied.