The Argonautica

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”
-Pablo Picasso"

Hello everyone! Today, I want to finally introduce my senior thesis project. Recently I was tasked in defining what type of work I do, and my best answer is what work am I going to do this semester. As I was considering my senior thesis, it dawned on me that the answer has been staring at me in the face for nearly 20 years. I want to illustrate books!

Over the past two years I've been slowly finding what I'm passionate about, and a few things continue to surface. I'm drawn to mythology, folk and fairy tales, fantasy, science fiction, adventure stories, and history. Work that really tells stories. First and foremost is mythology.

I've been interested in Greek mythology for as long as I can remember, mostly due to my heritage. Even in high school, my favorite assigned readings were the Iliad, the Odyssey, and Medea. I love the format of the epic poem, dripping in lyrical imagery, allegory, and stories within stories. When I went to Sicily last semester for a 10 day study abroad trip, I found a much stronger ancestral bond to the place then I would've ever imagined. On our last day in Sicily, we were told by our guide the creation myth of the island, which of course is Greek. When I came back from the trip, I knew I had to paint that myth.

"Trinacria," Watercolor, 24x10", April 2014. An illustration of Sicily's creation myth.

I've loved fantasy tales forever. As a young child I ate up the countless variations of the King Arthur stories, my introduction being the disney version of the Sword and the Stone. As a fourth grader I recall writing my own version of King Arthur. As I matured, so too did the versions of the story that I sought out. Last semester I drew these two character pieces for the Once and Future King by T.H. White. I've got reference and a sketch of Merlin waiting to be added to complete the triptych!

Illustrations based on T.H. White's "The Once and Future King". Graphite on Bristol Vellum, each 11x14", Feb. 2014

Fairy tales have always been an aesthetic influence for me. Last semester I painted an editorial piece using Rapunzel as a setting, serving as both a test for a slightly different style and a comedic setting to drive home the point of the article.

"Object of My Affections," Watercolor & graphite on watercolor paper 9.5x12", November 2014

I love books, I love the idea of books, and I think I found out just how true that is for me this past semester. Even painting a mock poster for the National Book festival, I found myself celebrating what I loved most about books; their ability to transport the reader to a different time, a different place, a different reality. Sufficed to say, all roads point towards the book market for me.

Proposed poster for the National Library of Congress annual Book Festival, Oil on illustration board, 12x18.5", September 2014

Over the past two years I've been working hard at improving technically in order to be able to paint whatever I want. I love to draw in pencil, and paint in oil and watercolor. I've spent the last seven months focused on improving my oil paintings, so for my final semester at the University I'll be focusing primarily on watercolor. Here are a few more of my oil paintings from the past few months.

"Resolution", Oil on board 16x20”, September 2014.

"Winter Logger," Beer label. Oil on board, 11x13", October 2014.

"Addicted to Adulation", Oil on board, 20x16", October 2014.

"University of Hartford Summer Course Catalog Cover," Oil on board, 14x20", December 2014.

"The Imprisoned," Personal piece. Oil on canvas board, 20x16", January 2015.

The pieces I've shared make up my current portfolio. You can see that I really only have maybe five pieces that can relate to the subject matter I am interested in. And out of those five, only the painting of the Trinacria (the sicilian creation myth) and the King Arthur drawings were designed for books. The Trinacria was designed as a double page spread, and the King Arthur drawings were designed as interior illustrations for a novel. That makes three portfolio pieces for the market I'm after. The Rapunzel piece is an editorial illustration, and although the setting is a fairy tale, the actual story being told isn't right for the book market. And finally, the painting the Imprisoned suggests a historical setting and a vaguely mysterious story, but given the nude figure, it isn't exactly right for any sort of younger audience. The rest of my work has been varied in terms of both subject and markets, they aren't designed to function as book illustrations or covers.

That being said, there are a number of holes my senior project will fill. I need to show that I can paint interior illustrations for a novel, aimed at young adults, perhaps ages 9 and up. I need to show that I can paint spreads for a children's book, and I need to show that I can design book covers.

So, in order to attain the book market, coupled with my passion for greek mythology, my project is going to focus primarily on the Greek epic poem, The Argonautica, which tells the myth of Jason and the Argonauts. My goal is to complete four single page interior illustrations, and a fifth illustration as a book cover. All pieces relating to The Argonautica will be done in watercolor in order to further my studies with the medium, and bring my abilities with watercolor up to par with where I've brought my oil paintings.

I'll also be painting one fairy tale illustration in watercolor that will be designed as a double page spread for a children's book. Finally, I will paint two book covers in oil; one science fiction and one fantastical, aimed at young adult readers, perhaps 10 and up. Currently I am leaning towards one of the 1001 Arabian Nights stories as the fairy tale, a Jules Verne or H.G. Wells book as the science fiction cover, and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Return of Tarzan as the fantastical cover.

 The end result will be a varied portfolio consisting of 3 book covers, 4 mythological single page book interiors, and one children's book double page spread. I'm extremely excited for this semester, as I've been wanting to launch into this project for a few months now. I've read the book, filled it with notes, have been thumbnailing like a mad man, and I'm set to start the first illustration this week. Wish me luck!

Also, I've launched the Fine Art section of my website for my figure paintings and plein air studies, and it features high quality reproductions of these paintings for the first time. Have a look!