MAGIC POSTER - REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST

Creating the REMEMBRANCE poster / June - October 2016

In the summer of 2016 I was commissioned by a magician friend to conceptualize,

design and illustrate a poster that would launch his first performance

as a magician in the parlor of his Victorian home.

An avid gardener, successful entrepreneur and new friend; Will came to me after he learned more about my experience in the world of magic. I knew that Will's interests in history, poetry and philosophy that we would created something truly original.

The "idea" of the poster is what drove the look of it and the subject matter of it.

As I worked on it I realized that we were creating a visual portrait of his life.
All of the images represent his history in the world of magic, his family, his gardens and his philosophy of life. The title of the "evening of magical artistry"is taken
from Marcel Proust's 1927 novel A la Recherche du Temps Perdu...

Remembrance of Things Past

All of the subject matter comes to life from my magnificent magician friend's life.

The visual journey that follows below is simply a visual parade of the chronological order of the ideas, sketches and mock-ups that lead to the final printed piece.
It was my great pleasure to "struggle" with the art as I was truly painting a psychological portrait of Will by... capturing his lifelong remembrances on paper.

All through June & July Will and I shared quotes from poetry and prose.
Visuals from fine art... from the mystical middle ages to the post modern and,
of course, from so much great magic art through the centuries.

The hour glass represents the past / future. In the top half are the men and women who most influenced and inspired our magician. I struck upon the idea of presenting them like the characters that appeared on the Beatles Sgt. Pepper Album in 1967.

While researching the history of the hourglass I stumbled upon the wicked witch from Wizard of Oz and her crazy serpented hourglass and I knew... THAT was the one!

"Take That, My Little Pretty"

The GLOBE is inspired by the 1961 WORLDS FAIR. Will had seen it as a child when

his parents took him to New York City and there is stood. Seeing it, and the scale and magic of it, opened the world of wonder to the yet-to-be aspiring magician.

The final illusion in Will's performance is the magical appearance

of two butterflies that fly through the parlor as a climax to close the show.

Regarding the three ellipses that circle the globe/planet.......

All throughout the creation of this poster I always wondered (worried?)

about how to render them. There were three options:

1) with a template & pen

2) digitally (somehow)

3) by hand.

1) there are no templates for that ellipse shape and size

2) digital art is not 'in keeping' with the handcrafted look of the line art --- no way

3) accurate ellipses can't be done by hand (constant curves)

The time eventually came when they had to be rendered. Somehow a spirit
overcame me and she directed me: to render them by hand... with out any guides.

Like the circus tight-rope-walker without a net.

Dear reader: I took several deep breaths and I drew them by hand.

For me it was a touch of magic. — Throughout my career as an artist

the best comment I can ever hear is "How did you do that?"

It's Magic.