First Published: Sunday, January 10, 2010 11:37 PM
Last Saved: Sunday, January 10, 2010 11:47 PM
Its time for this weeks 90 minute drawing challenge. This week its the 1986 film: Blue Velvet which runs for 1 hour 52 minutes (psst next week I'm doing a 90 minute movie). In this weeks challenge I'm back to pen and ink, but with a different genre again. Blue Velvet is a post-modern thriller. If you haven't seen this movie YOU MUST RENT OR OWN THIS MOVIE. So before I get into the results lets go over the rules:
What I learned from last week is that brushes are unpredictable. So...I'm still using brushes but with pen as well. Also I did mention a while back that I would work in A4 rather than A3. Well to show just how much I don't listen to myself...here I am working in A3 again.
I once again chose to warm up first. This is really important as I pointed out last week. You're moving for 90min-2 hours without significant breaks. Unless you want your hand to shake and not be confident in the work you're doing you really need to limber up.
It looks like the ear was cut off with scissors:

So as has been the case over the last few weeks, I have taken the sketch option. Which really is just like warming up but for your mind. Maybe from here on in expect a sketch. It gets your head in the game and ready to work on the final piece.
What I wanted to do in this piece was show the scene where Frank Booth (played by Dennis Hopper), high on Nitrous Oxide, performs depraved sex acts on Dorothy Vallens (played by Isabella Rossellini) while Jeremy Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) looks on.
As has been the case for the last few weeks, I do have to say that I like the speed and intensity on the sketch, maybe over the final piece.
Please note, I had a spill of my ink on this page (good thing this didn't happen on the final piece). And on the left hand side you can see the notes that I take again (and some notes on a Hellboy/Peanuts comic that I drew).
OK so not to be a tease here's Hellboy/Peanuts....
She lives on the seventh floor...come on
As this story is a Thriller, I thought I'd try a bit of a Frank Milleresque heavy black and whites a la Sin City. I wanted to put in the Nitrous Oxide mask in the image (you'll see in the youtube that I struggled with this-and struggling is something you can't do with a drawing challenge)
I want to see you get undressed!
Laying out the blacks. Boy I'm so glad I'm back with pens.
It's Daddy you S*&%head...where's my bourbon?!!!
F&*% that S%^&...Paps BLUE RIBBON!!!
You can't see it here, but this is the point where I knew that if I wanted to do the Frank character justice (plus I was still looking into doing the Nitrous) this has meant that I can't do Jeremy in the closet.
A candy coloured clown they call "The Sandman"
I've laid out the blacks using brushes and ink (back with the brushes). So I have to wait for the ink to dry (good thing its around 30 odd degrees celsius here right now so that happens really quickly). So I decided to work on some action lines. I still don't think that this worked. But this endeavour is supposed to be about experimentation.
I love you...but you're gonna get it
O.K. here's where I decided not to do the hand and the nitrous. I am burning through time and its time I don't have as I'm about 20 minutes until the end here.
I could never eat a bug
Here is the final piece. I really enjoyed this challenge this week. No doubt you can tell its my favourite movie and I've seen it way too many times. I think I might break the rules (gasp) and finish this piece at a latter date.
YouTube time lapse movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2_Ik5JVmXs
What I learned from this challenge:
Next weeks challenge: OK get ready for this...next weeks challenge is a 90 minute movie! And also its a 90 minute movie SCULPTURE challenge (This could go sooooo wrong). Next week's movie will be the 1982 Jim Hensen movie The Dark Crystal.
That is some great work there. You should've done a sketch of Booth just crying on Vallens.
Can't wait for the Dark Crystal portion!
You should see the sketch I did for Frank's clothes. I point to the collar and it says "Preacher Thingies"
Fantastic work as always. Be interesting to see how you do the Sculputre challenge. I've never done one but would love to try. Let me know what I would need, maybe I will give that a shot.
Wire, Air drying clay, wet cloth, bowl of water. Tools (well I use makeshift tools made out of pen lids-there will be photos)
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AH Blue Velvet, a movie that can cause nightmares in some. My drama teacher was WAY to into this movie.
Great work, love the look and Miller-esq approach. Very cool