Cover for City Beat this week. play on Rockwell’s “First Love” image for a story about older gay couples.
Thanks to my friend Woody for helping me brainstorm on this one on the fly.
It was initially oil and color pencil, scanned that, and finished digitally. I didn’t want to approach it as an imitation of Rockwell, because I simply would just not win that match. So, I stole his composition and tried to keep the posture of the two figures similarly. I also had to make some changes to make sure it looked like two men and not a man and a boy….that would be trouble.
So, I took a little of the “cute” out of it, so now it plays as simply a nod to Mr. Rockwell for those who are familiar with the image. And for those who aren’t, I still think it gets the message across in a fun way.
I think this a pretty effective well executed piece Oliver, well done.
ReplyDeleteCityBeat is lucky to have this caliber of work on their covers.
Indeed they are! I look forward to picking it up.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't familiar with this particular Rockwell illo.... but that doesn't matter! This definitely reads as a Rockwell homage/spin!
ReplyDeleteAwesome concept & follow through. Very clever :~)
And I wasn't taking out any "Rockwell ruler" to see if you matched his technique, either. (As you can see in my work, that ruler broke as soon as "They" handed it to me.)
ReplyDeletethanks everybody! unfortunately it printed really poorly. It's hard to really make an impact when your printable value range is greys from 30%-75% :)
ReplyDeleteit was a fun job and hope to get another one soon!
Nice work Oliver - it certainly maintains the spirit and feel of the original - great adaptation!
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