My favorite thing about darkness is ironically the light. Even in the darkness there is always light. 2020 has undoubtly been a very dark year for a lot of people, but I believe some good has come of it. During these dark times, lights have begun to illuminate the many things that we took for granted. We've started to realize the importance of protecting our physical and mental health. We're realizing that the jobs we considered less prestigious are in fact essential. Many of us became aware of our privilege. These issues wouldn't have have come to light if it weren't for the darkness in which we've had to exist.
In these past two weeks I've been working on two concept illustrations for my film A Bionic Holiday Ballad, and I've have been drawing a lot of inspiration from my dark environnment. When I wake up in the morning and drive to the studio it's dark and when I come home it's dark. I exist in darkness 5 days a week, but in the darkness I have found extraordinary beauty in the way the world around me is so differently illuminated. I find myself admiring the silhouette of the trees against the dark indigo sky and the glistening reflections of the artificial city lights on the wet streets. It notice how some objects around me are completely encompassed in shadows while others are now showcased by spot lights.
I've been studying how the light and shadow play with my perception of the world around me. I've been mindful of the feelings the different types of lights evoke. My intent in this weeks illustrations is to evoke a feeling of comfort in the darkness. I am perhaps more fortunate than most that I have been able to find comfort in the darkness. I suppose being an artist is in many ways a form of privilege. To be able to view the world through a lens that will find beauty in just about anything is an innate ability for me. I wish to share that with the world around me because in times of difficulty we turn to our books, movies, music and TV shows for comfort.
This first illustration is the street just outside the cemetery where two of the main characters stroll arm in arm and sing the opening song Haunted Holiday. The idea is that they exit this place of death where they are haunted and enter into this world that is still dark, but beautifully illuminated.
This second illustration is further down the street where the Bionics company owned by the protagonist is located. I wanted the building to look imposing and intriguing at the same time. The brightly lit environment is purposly a stark contrast to the dark building.
The pallette I've used is purple, yellow, red and green which are complementray(opposite) colors and I'm going for very high contrast lighting.The idea with the design of this film is that we live in a world that is simitanoulsy dark and light, good and evil, beautiful and ugly and it is up to us to choose where we shine the light.
These illustrations are available as fine art prints in my store for $30 each. Proceeds from sales are allocated towards production costs of this film and my other creative projects.
