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Monday, May 25, 2009

It's a little POTTERY...

Any one who's ever talked with me for more than a word knows that I am a geek. I'm a geek in the truest, most devoted sense. I'll grab onto something, be it Star Wars, Stephen King , Tolkien or zombies... and INDULGE on it until I am satisfied or exhausted. I've researched the speed classes of imperial fighters, watched ALL of the extras on the LOTR extended editions, and, here it is... read the Harry Potter books at least three times each. Don't even get me started on Batman.
The current obsession is, for the umpteenth time, Mr. H. Potter - the fella' in the cupboard under the stairs. I've just audio-booked my way through books six and seven and I'm back to the Sorcerer's stone. The thing that always happens is , when I get completely inundated in some fictional world, some collection of work, be they books, movies, illustrations... It directly affects my sketchbook. Seriously, check it out: below, we have the man in black himself, Lord Voldemort! And BOY does he look fussy!


Next is the cutest of cute, Hermione Granger. These are all on the same page, a series of sketches I made with thoughts of a series of paintings. Please ignore the crabby L.V. in the upper-right-hand corner...


And here's the prize winner - the sketch that nabbed the honor of becoming a painting. What you can't see in the sketch is the original idea for the title, 'Ouch.' I don't know if that's going to last, though, might be too vague. This was the first effort - what I consider an 'advanced sketch' or a 'trial run'... I wasn't happy with it, to be honest. The colors are too shallow, and I thought our one-year-old Harry Potter looked a little too much like an indignant forty-year-old man who's just smelled a fart in a public place. Also, the smoke on the freshly seared scar looks too loose and wispy for my tastes...

Now THIS, on the other hand, is what i had in mind! A cute little baby Harry, just after the killing curse bounced off of his pudgy, little forehead, looking singed and more than a little freaked out. The details are there, from the Gryffindor pajamas to the owl snuggly... This is what I was aiming for. I hope y'all like it as much as I do! Look for more Potter-y here in the near future!

1 comment:

mallory said...

OMG! Ben, this is why we are friends. I'm glad you are marrying my BFF. That means you are my BFF-in-law, or something like that.