I have just finished the posters for next season at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater (812 E. Rollins St., Orlando, FL 32803). As I was crunching away painting the posters, I missed several sketch opportunities at the theater. Now that the work is done, I get to return to sketching theater live.
With Anna in the Tropics I was asked to depict the woman in a sensual nightgown with her lover behind her. It is ironic that a large box of typed information was placed over her chest. Perhaps my depiction was to sensual. I am learning what sells and what lines I should not cross.
The Hound of the Baskervilles was a comedy. I tried to make this clear with Watson holding a magnifying glass that made his eye super large, Sherlock’s quizzical expression as well as a dog with a big grin. Despite my efforts many members of the audience thought they were going to a dark mysterious show. I have seen the show before and it was hilarious. I am certain anyone who went to the Shakes performance was not disappointed.
I have done A Christmas Carol poster every year I have been painting these posters. This design reverted back to the first year’s poster which depicted Stooge holding up tiny Tim. I felt that first poster caught lightning in a bottle. This poster used photos from previous years’ show to tie it in with the actual costuming used in the show. Minor changes were made to the design like having Tiny Tim’s head overlap the title. I like the choice which helps to keep the characters large.
I love returning to the Shakes because I get to see the audience gather in the lobby with all the posters on the lobby walls. It is my one chance to see the posters at their full size all together. As a whole they all pull together. I think anyone seeing the posters will know that the same human hand touched each concept. I have seen what AI can do when designing posters. The results can be impressive technically, but for me they seem a bit impersonal, like clip art.
When I was working on the last batch of posters, I considered typing in a few words into an AI interface and seeing what the computer would spit out. I could not figure out the log in information with codes and passwords, so I abandoned my first curious venture. Instead I returned to painting by hand. Though the results look analog, I am working digitally on an iPad. The reason is that changes can be done much quicker digitally. Every element of the painting is on a separate layer and if a layer has to be altered I can just turn it off and try something new.
I have taken three months to travel Europe and follow my father’s footsteps at the end of WWII. It felt good to sketch with pen and paper along with watercolors. Decisions had to be made on the fly and there was no control Z to undo a pen stroke. Decisions had to be bold and decisive. If mistakes were made they reminded on the sketch and part of the process. It is that imperfectness that I love. Hopefully each sketch gets better and the bold decisions come faster. Having a machine make those bold choices for me seems unappealing.