February Sketch Challenge: Day Seventeen

by on February 17, 2015 at 9:21 am
Posted In: Art

For today’s sketch I drew from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. 

It’s odd, despite being mostly a fan of Miloš Forman‘s work I’ve only seen this once and I don’t really remember much about it beyond Jack Nicholson‘s antics… and this.

Before seeing the movie as a whole I saw a clip of the final scene of Will Sampson as “Chief” Bromden, after smothering a lobotomized McMurphy with his pillow, pulls up the sink (something McMurphy had been trying to do most of the movie) and throws it through the hospital ward’s window and escapes.

Ultimately, I think, while McMurphy may be the catalyst of the story, Bromden is the hero and in the end, if there is any, the victory is his.

oneflewoverthecuckoo'snest

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February Sketch Challenge: Day Sixteen

by on February 16, 2015 at 9:10 am
Posted In: Art

Well once again I pulled a name from the hat I wasn’t looking forward too. I confess I saw Rocky II before I saw any of Rocky… and to be honest I never saw all of it so all I know about the first fight ( beyond him losing) comes from flashbacks from the sequel and third hand.

Despite all of that I think this came out all right (despite having a sneaking suspicion that I might have cribbed the idea from one of Mort Drucker‘s Mad Magazine covers) I figured it was either the fight or something from the training montage (though in hindsight Rocky working out in the meat locker has potential too)

In hindsight I would have liked to force the perspective even more on this… I think that would really crank up the martyrdom subtext.

rocky

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February Sketch Challenge: Day Fourteen

by on February 14, 2015 at 9:09 am
Posted In: Art

Well this one was one I wasn’t looking forward to after all everybody does Wizard of Oz. On the plus side it helped me get over the “Has to say everything the movie the movie is about” problem.

So going in you have to remember that this is for the movie, not anything else involving Wizard of Oz. What makes the movie great for me is that it’s an all star cast but it’s difficult to notice this because it was an all star broadway cast. Ray Bolger was the dancer of his times, and Bert Lahr was one of the comedy greats, he was the definitive Estragon  in the first Broadway performances of Waiting For Godot. So it’s a shame that Wizard of Oz is one of the few film recordings of  a master of at work.

So anyway for me Wizard of Oz is all about Bert Lahr, and because of this I did my version of “If I were King of the Forest.”

wizardofOz

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February Sketch Challenge: Day Thirteen

by on February 13, 2015 at 9:09 am
Posted In: Art

Hmm… Two players in a row. I’m beginning to think it’s the films I like that are the hardest ones to do for this exercise but what can I say, Casablanca has so much stuff in it. There’s so many quintessential scenes in it. Do I do the refugees watching the plane leave? do I go with the “La Marseillaise” scene? how about Louis and Rick walking into the fog as the Ilsa and Victor’s plane leaves… the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

I finally decided to go with what ties it all together the song “As Time Goes By”. Unfortunately I had a bit of a false start. I started with having Ilsa leaning over the piano listening (not the way it was in the movie but I couldn’t remember if it she was sitting at a table next to the piano or not and the first rule of this exercise is not to refresh my memory.

A quarter of the way in I decided it would be better to do it with Rick wallowing in self pity, drunk remembering Paris.

Rick: You know what I want to hear. 

Sam: [lying] No, I don’t. 

Rick: You played it for her, you can play it for me! 

Sam: [lying] Well, I don’t think I can remember… 

Rick: If she can stand it, I can! Play it!

Casablanca

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February Sketch Challenge: Day Twelve

by on February 12, 2015 at 12:54 pm
Posted In: Art

I saw first saw Amadeus performed at the Trinity Repertory Theater and loved it. So when the movie came out I was able to enjoy it not just as the tour de force by Miloš Forman, F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce but also as a brilliant adaptation of his own material by Peter Shaffer,

What I like best about Amadeus (both play and movie) is it is once you get past the historical fiction. conspiracy and darkness of human jealousy is that it is all about the joy of music and the love that both Mozart and Salieri have for it. So for me the scenes in the movie that say it all are every time we see Mozart perform. Yes he is showboating but the joy of it is there too… and in doing this he is unintentionally taunting Salieri.

amadeis

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