Moonlight
Pen and ink on Bristol, digital color
8.5" x 6"
Moonlight began life as a pen and ink drawing (check out my blog post about the original drawing here), and then I scanned it in and colored it digitally in Photoshop.
The image is a night scene, and I wanted to really capture a sense of tranquility and calm, so I went with a monochromatic approach with the most soothing blues I could come up with, then splashed it with a bit of dramatic red to spice it up a bit.
I mentioned in my previous post about this piece that it was inspired by dungeon synth and a desire to create something that feels like folklore, fairy tales, etc. In this case, I specifically was thinking about the moon and its association with lunacy.
In more practical terms, I also had to grapple with the choice of media for this one, which relates back to my post about "The Color Problem." I've been torn between handling color digitally, which is what I have the most experience with, versus doing it on physical media. The latter is certainly more accepted in the traditional art world, has a very different feel from digital, and, until recently, had a much better chance of selling for any meaningful amount of money.
However, I'm working hard right now to create art that is the purest possible expression of my personal interests and the things that excite me as a creator, and for better or worse, that involves digital color.
I absolutely love the rich, creamy look of digital color, and for me it connects directly to my love of comic books and specifically to the vibrant colors and glossy pages of Image Comics of the early '90s. Those comics were part of a revolution of color in the industry at the time, making them feel very fresh and exciting, and they were like magical objects to me as a child that I carried with me wherever I went.
Separately, my concerns about the monetary value of the work I'm creating have been fairly well smashed by the sudden explosion of NFTs, which have opened the door to digital art being taken seriously and sold at comparable prices to physical pieces.
So I guess right now I'm just saying eff it; I'm excited by digital color, that's the lane I want to explore, so that's what I'm focusing on.
Looking ahead, the next couple pieces I have to share have significantly more deliberate concepts. I'll be delving into contemporary politics, and more specifically, the news media's representations of political figures. The dark fantasy surrealism will remain intact, however. Pretty excited to get into that.
More coming soon. Stay tuned!