A trip to Maine

Growing up in the 1980s, I’m pretty sure I was one of only a few little kids who knew the Dark Shadow theme by heart. My mom loved the tv show and taped reruns off of TV to watch at night while my sister and I would cower behind couch cushions with our toys. 

Dark Shadows was a gothic sci-fi soap opera created during the late 1960’s featuring the cursed, but rich, Collins family and a full complement of supernatural beings (vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts, and the like) causing mischief and mayhem at the family homestead, Collinwood. Collinwood itself, was a sprawling mansion perched atop a seaside cliff battered by seemingly never-ending storms and hidden in thick banks of fog, on the coast of Maine.

In my heart, Maine has always been an extension of Collinwood: dark, sinister, and haunted. And despite a recent road trip this summer that stretched from Portland Maine to Campobello Islan, filled with picturesque seaside towns, busy harbors, oppressive humidity and luscious, buttery, lobster rolls, I still fit in plenty of cliff-side walks, foggy mornings and lonely, rocky beaches to sate my childhood nostalgia and raise goosebumps on my arms.

To that end, I hope you enjoy my photos below and check out my TV inspiration Dark Shadows for a scare (and maybe a laugh) on a dark and stormy night.

Fresh Flowers from the Farm

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Fresh Flowers from the Farm. Click to enlarge.

Having lived in Lancaster for 10 years, I have always known that Central Market is the beating heart of the downtown. Cheerful and loud, proud and locally sourced: it’s a great place to grab a bite, shop for groceries, take visiting relatives, and delight in all things Lancaster.

Unfortunately, I have never taken a good picture there in my life. It’s like my Bermuda Triangle in terms of photography. I have tried different times of the day, different times of the year, different subjects, etc., but I've never taken that one image that I'm really excited about.

But that doesn’t mean I haven’t accrued some good source material over the years. And by source material, I mean photos that fall short of being a good photograph because of lighting, distracting backgrounds, etc., but are excellent foundations for one of my illustrations. 

Check out the video of my creative process!

Lessons Learned

I try to approach each illustration as a learning experience and unfailingly, the creative process has led me down paths that have been challenging and rewarding. I have included some of the lessons I have learned and some of the lessons that I have to keep reminding myself.

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Click to enlarge for a closer look at my mood board.

1. Compile a mood board

It's a great way to brainstorm, test things out, and keep organized. With illustrations this complex, I usually make my mood board as I go and a keep folder full of references and supplemental photos for details and mood.

2. Create some depth of field

I knew I wanted to do some kind of brick background, but I realized pretty quickly that the florist in front of a brick wall looked flat and uninteresting. So I added the table for the florist to stand behind, a stool directly behind her, and the entrance to Central Market in the background.  Without those elements, the illustration would look two-dimensional and kind of boring.

3. Automation isn’t always the solution

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I started off trying to build my brick wall by using the pattern tool but the end result looked too uniform and flat. I ended up hand-drawing the bricks to give each one a unique and distinct feel.

Likewise with the flowers,  I started off making the petals all one color and the same shape. But only by making the shapes of the petals a little different and using tones of color and shading, did the flowers feel look more alive.

4. Do your research

Halfway through the illustration, I reached an impasse, I wasn't sure what to do with the backdrop or the foreground. Instead of continuing to hit my head against the wall, I decided I would take a field trip back to Central Market and the flower stand to get another look around. I bought some flowers which they wrapped in red tissue paper, which gave me the idea of using tissue paper as a detail in the scene. It also gave me the idea of placing a table in front of the florist so that I could elevate some of the vases of flowers and add some height.

5. Waste Some Time

It’s good for you. Watch a Youtube Tutorial, try a new technique, change the colors– alot. I guarantee you that you won’t use everything that you create. But it will give you creative options for your current work and good practice for projects to come.

6. It will never be perfect

Obviously, you want to get it 90% of the way there, but that last 10%? Let it go– it's just going to force you to move deadlines and give you wrinkles around your eyes.

I hope you enjoyed Fresh Flowers from the Farm. You can check out some of my other illustrations below.