The Hound of the Baskervilles: Final Poster

Posted on by admin

For the final Orlando Shakespeare Theater poster for the Hound of the Baskervilles, I kept the seated poses for Watson and Sherlock Holmes. In the Hound of the Baskervilles, Watson actually plays a much larger role than Holmes since he goes to the Baskerville estate to investigate alone. It is a chance to see him use his powers of deduction, but he is as swept up in the legend of the huge hound as the townspeople.

Through the mystery and intrigue Sherlock was actually investigating from afar. The Hound of the Baskervilles has been adapted so many times for movies and theater production that it is a perfect fit for a comedic farce. Most people are well aware of the story. It was required reading for me in high school.

mangling, murder and mayhem can be extremely funny when resented with tongue in cheek. In this production actors hod ornate picture frames to portray the historic Baskerville family lineage. I always love paintings that come alive, by expressing emotion.

If you get a chance to see this production, I would highly advise it. It should be laugh out loud funny.

The Hound of the Baskervilles: Third Pass

Posted on by admin

Each time I work on a poster the image evolves. Changes are all part of the artistic process. The first pass at the poser was rather menacing. I decided with this pass to hav Sherlock and Watson sitting in easy chairs contemplating the mystery they had to solve. I gave Sherlock a quizzical look as if he were one step away from solving the crime. Watson on the other hand just looks a bit flummoxed.

I kept the misty forest in the painting of the hound between them. I considered putting them in Sherlock’s apartment but decided they too needed to be seated in the forest. I later changed my idea about the setting. The dog is rather lanky and sinister still. I remembered that picture frames played a role in the stage production, so framing the hound made sense to me.

The feedback I got to this pass was as expected. There wasn’t enough information to let the audience know they were going to see a comedy. I needed to push the expressions more for comedic effect and the hound was still too scary. I needed to push for a little more Scooby doo without getting cartoony. The new creative challenges kept the poster evolving.

Having seen a staging of a similar production, I a say that you will have a blast if you go to see this show. I was laughing out loud as I sketched.

 

The Hound of the Baskervilles: Second Pass

Posted on by Thor

The second pass at the Hound of the Baskervilles poster was simply a sketch I had done several years ago of the production. My primary concern while sketching live in the theatre is always to catch the key characters in a scene together. It is less about character and expression and more about doing anything possible to get the sketch done during the course of the play.

i knew this sketch would not fly, but I like to offer plenty of options. If this sketch was approved, I would then refine the poses and push it to more of a polished look. I do remember laughing out loud at the show. There were obvious theater doorways and frames were used which actors would hold as if they were posing for a portrait.

It was a very fun show to watch and sketch. The poster however serves a different purpose. It isn’t about portraying what happens on the stage but about conveying an idea of what you might expect to feel watching the production.My sketches from life are almost always a long shot trying to show what is happening on the entire stage. The poster image needs to be more of a close up, offering a chance to see the actor’s expression. The challenge for me of course is that aI never know who the actors will be. This created a catch 22 where I need to be specific but also generalized in the approach to the image.

Hound of the Baskervilles: First Pass

Posted on by admin

My first pass at The Hound of the Baskervilles poster was done thinking this was a serious drama based on the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle book. I wanted a mysterious and ominous hound to be the primary image to catch the attention of anyone looking at the image. I wanted a deep forest with plenty of looming fog. I then decided to make to hound huge and integrate it into the surrounding landscape. The idea was a bit abstract but it represented the psychological spirit of the beast.
I then added the more straightforward image of Sherlock looking through his magnifying glass.

Of course this idea didn’t fly because the play is an adaptation  that is a comedy. My image had nothing to do with a comedy, I was looking for intrigue, mystery and a dash of horror. Most of my paining for the past four years have had all of those elements, so it is hard to shake off the dark nature of the images that first come. Out of my hands.

The Hound of the Baskervilles will be running from September 24 to November 2, 2025 at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater 812 East Rollins Street Orlando Florida. Be prepared for a hilarious time.

First Sighting of My Hound of the Baskervilles Poster

Posted on by admin

While writing an article from France, I noticed that the Hound of the Baskervilles is coming up at the Shakespeare Theater (. This was a fun poster to work on.

I played with the replicate pattern aspect of Procreate to quickly find a pattern for the wallpaper. As usual there were multiple iterations of the poster until I dialed in this comedic image.

With my first pass at the poster I had no idea that it was a comedy. I watched several of the classic movies based on Arthur Conan Doyle‘s book and the movies were outright scary. I am never one to shy away from horrifying imagery, so I jumped in and played up the horror.

Of course the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Watson is always rather comedic as Sherlock tests Watson’s ability to make deductions. Watson always does a passable job of making deductions based on the evidence but then Sherlock makes astounding deductions based on the smallest evidence, and of curse he is right.

I did sketch this comedy years ago and remember laughing out loud.

What I love about this version of the poser is the grinning rottweiler. With a smile like that how viscous can the hound truly be. The silhouette and sheer girth of the dog seen from the distance are what make most feel terror.

The type treatment is very much like one of the early movie posters for the Hound of the Baskervilles. I think my favorite move version of the story was in black and white starring Basel Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes.

The entirety of my poster color treatment is in warm tones except for the mysterious green glow emanating from behind the hound. I love working digitally on these posters because I can add new layers over the painting to make changes while keeping the original concept in tact. Sometime an eliminate isn’t needed and I can just turn it off. If I was painting traditionally I would have to redo the entire painting any time there was a change.

Elementary my dear Watdon. I would strongly advise you to check out Hound of the Baskervilles for yourself, starting September 24, 2025 at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater (812 East Rollins Street, Orlando FL.)

The Hound of the Baskervillesat at Shakes.

Posted on by Thor

The Hound of the Baskerrvilles, written by Sir Conan Doyle was adapted for the stage by Steven Canny and John Nicholson. The 19 parts are played by just three actors. Steven Lane played Sherlock Holmes and I grew anxious since he didn’t play the part of Sherlock very often. This hilarious  production at times involved the actors breaking character and talking to the audience one on one. They poked jabs at each other for the past productions they had done. Dr. John Watson, (Simon Needham) was a natural at the British accent since he comes form England. The other actors joked that he is taking good paying actors work from American actors. Chris Crawford played Sir Henry Baskerville among other roles. The production involved many very quick costume changes.

After the first act there was an intermission and the second act began with Steven Lane reading a note form an audience member in the center section. It stated that his acting was lackluster and sluggish. The response was for the cast to re-act the entire first act at an insanely accelerated pace. This time costumes were often only half assembled as the actors ran around the stage to hit their marks. This was hilarious and impressive at the same time.

The Baskerville family suffered from a curse that began when a young woman was imprisoned at their Devonshire estate. A huge and vicious hound then attacked the guilty abductor. Since that date the family carried the curse. Each generation would suffer from the attack of a devilish red eyed  hound. The recent death of a Sir Charles Baskerville rekindled the story of the cure and brought in Holmes and Watson on the case. Holmes was busy but sent Watson to the estate to investigate.

There is an escaped convict on the moor and mysterious candle messaged sent at night. Sherlock takes multiple disguises to watch the activity of the state from afar. His several attempts to reveal himself to Watson, are hilarious since Watson is blinded by theater blindness that allows for a costume change to be an absolute disguise.  Myth and mystery eventually give way to thought and reason and the suspect is discovered.

We were seated in the back row of house left which was a great vantage point when the actors left the stage and wandered into the audience. I almost tripped an actor as he rushed out the fire escape door setting off the alarm. I highly recommend the show for a light hearted evening of theater.

The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater, The Goldman

812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803

Tickets are $13 to $50.

Remaining show dates:

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 – 2:00 PM

Wednesday, November 8, 2017 – 7:30 PM

Sold out! There are no tickets available.

Thursday, November 9, 2017 – 7:30 PM

Friday, November 10, 2017 – 7:30 PM

Saturday, November 11, 2017 – 7:30 PM

Sunday, November 12, 2017 – 2:00 PM

Sunday, November 12, 2017 – 7:30 PM

Tuesday, November 14, 2017 – 7:30 PM

Thursday, November 16, 2017 – 7:30 PM

Friday, November 17, 2017 – 7:30 PM

Saturday, November 18, 2017 – 7:30 PM

Sunday, November 19, 2017 – 2:00 PM

Sunday, November 19, 2017 – 7:30 PM