The more I continue this series, the more I realize what a joy it's been to create posters for serialized television again. With this 3rd poster in the series now complete, I've realized that each poster has presented a set of unique challenge in their own respects but comes generally comes down to one thing. How do you take a show that has many themes, many plot lines and boil it down to a simple visual that illustrates that? With the other two posters for Hannibal and Bates Motel, which are both headed into their third seasons, I was able to latch onto the theme of where the show is headed while including visual cues from the stories told so far. With the new poster in the set, inspired by FOX's Gotham (a show that is going to air it's third episode tonight), I didn't have much to latch onto but what has been given. I very clearly didn't want to be inspired by the marketing posters, so having seen the show so far, it was refreshing to just go by what I'm seeing unravel. I'm intrigued most by three themes: Jim Gordon, Bruce Wayne and their relationship to the other big character- the city of Gotham. I wanted to embrace the grittiness and harshness of the state of these characters and embrace the sense that the city around them is coming down on them. This was a challenging one, but super happy to have tackled what I feel is a (though not perfect) promising show.
7 POSTERS IN 7 DAYS- CULT TV: Bates Motel
It's Day 2 of my poster series "7 Posters in 7 Days: Current Cult TV Edition" and what better way to ring it in than some motherly love? Bates Motel is one of those shows that really surprised me in so many different ways. It was a show based on not only Robert Bloch's amazing novel (which I had the supreme honor of redesigning the cover for!) and the incredible Alfred Hitchcock film. It already had a lot to live up to and setting it in the modern day as a prequel was even more ambitious. Then I saw it and fell in love with the amazing performances by Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga and the style of the universe they crafted. It's out there, It's bonkers and it's really fraked up.
With this poster, I wanted to take the essence of where the show is going and really focus on the slow descent of Norman Bates. He's torn between so much confusion about who he is, the "too close" love for his mother and the fact that he might just be very off his rocker. I wanted the visuals to really convey those varying elements and show how those things are starting to take over all of who Norman was, leaving something more sinister peering through. I had a ton of fun playing with the composition on this puppy and illustrating how the story of Norman's many parts come together.
7 POSTERS IN 7 DAYS- CULT TV: Hannibal
Every so often a creative person feels a bit stalled and stuck with their process. After an incredibly busy year so far, I was finding myself grasping for inspiration with very little sparking me to "tell the stories" I love. It just wouldn't seem to come to me, no matter how much I tried to force this inspirational resurgence. After a while of really diving deep and many a discussion with fellow artist friends of mine, I just realized I needed to do two simple things. One was to clear my head of where I thought my work should go and get back to the basics of exploring the art and having fun with that part of the process. The other was just forcing myself to loosen up and be a bit more spontaneous with my process as opposed to overthinking.
That's when I decided to try something I started a couple of years ago by creating a time-limited poster series. I had originally started this with my series based on Hitchcock and Stephen King, eventually leading me to try designing 10 Posters for 10 Different Oscar Nominated Films in 10 Days. It was an incredible experience and really forced me to step outside of certain comfort zones and really bring the stories of these films to life in new and inventive ways. So when thinking of a new challenge, I figured why not just go for it.
So I've decided that this Poster Series theme is 7 Posters based on 7 Current Cult TV Shows in 7 Days! I started out with one of my favorite shows on TV right now, Hannibal. Terrifyingly deep and smart, this show challenges the viewers in ways that excite me from week to week. The characters dive deep into their own and others' motives and personalities. And the style of the show is intensely beautiful, having some of the best visuals I think I've ever seen on television. So thanks Hannibal for being my first bite back into a fun seven days.
NEW SHOW: Crazy 4 Cult 7 / New York!
Hey Everyone! I'm SUPER excited to announce that next week I'll be participating in Crazy 4 Cult 7, Gallery 1988's Pop-Culture Art event. This is the show's 2nd year in New York City & it'll gather some amazing artists to depict paintings, prints and sculptures based on popular cult films. It's a must see! So please come out and support! Hope to see you there! Info Below:
Gallery1988 (NY)
355A Bowery
New York, NY 10003
Opening Reception: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13th, 7 to 10pm
(on display through December 21st 2013)
NEW PRINT: The Walking Dead's Daryl Dixon
It was an honor to work with Hero Complex Gallery and AMC's The Walking Dead to bring a piece inspired by the hit show. This 13 x 19 Giclee Print titled "Cherokee Rose" brings resident zombie apocalypse bad-ass Daryl Dixon (played by the incredible Norman Reedus) to the forefront. With this piece, I felt a strong urge to go for something a little different. Using the grittiness of the show and it's character, bringing texture and rough pencils to the figure himself. In addition, I wanted to contrast that by creating a more ethnic inspired color scheme that brought Daryl's iconic poncho to life (It's safe to say i'm a big fan of Mr. Dixon's style). And lastly, sprinkling in some more texture to the moon and rose petals, inspired by Daryl's season 2 arc and his gestures to Carol/Sophia with the Cherokee Rose.
You can find this piece and much more fabulous artwork by some incredible artists THIS weekend. Online sales begin the day after the opening on the gallery's website. So snatch it up! Show info below:
Who: Hero Complex Gallery
What: Hero Complex Gallery celebrates AMC’s The Walking Dead
Description: Art Exhibition highlighting the characters and world of AMC’s The Walking Dead
When: Opening Reception: Friday, October 11th, 7-10pm
Additional Hours – W-Sun, 11am-6pm
Where: Hero Complex Gallery
2020 South Robertson Blvd., Studio D, Los Angeles, CA 90034