Hard Places

I'm not really 100% on whether or not escape artists are actually physically escaping from elaborate complicated traps, or are pulling off some illusion. I think Houdini was actually escaping. Houdini seemed to have pretty rock solid integrity. Other dudes, I dunno. I like the idea of escape artists though.

Oh, yeah. There's a show to promote: COLISEUM! Burning Love, and local bruisers Forged in Flame.



I've had this in mind for a while, but didn't really have a reason to bust it out. When this poster dropped in my lap and they needed it post-haste, I thought of this and jammed it right out with the quickness. My rough is pretty damn rough on this. I guess that's what I do when I know what I'm doing.



Inking this was fun. I had the vision for this so my brush strokes were sure, but I guess I could have centered the tank a little more. I think I drew this on an 11 x 14 drawing board. I think it's a pretty crusty drawing.



This is the texture I dropped over the colored art, using Photoshop. This shit is fun to make.



Brush and Ink. And a pen. Mostly Brush and Ink.



Not entirely sure where I'm going with the aquatic theme I've been making moves with lately. I've actually been rocking it for quite a while. I think I would include a dude being trapped underwater, constricted by a straight jacket, in chains, blind folded and gagged, part of that aquatic theme. He is underwater.



I totally had this color scheme in mind way early in this process. I knew I wanted the background to be darker than usual, and I knew I was going to change the colors of the actual line art- the dude, the tank. I knew I as going to add the texture and the glow to the tank. I knew what this looked like before I even started.



Thematically, I like this piece. It's kind of harsh and I think maybe even lonely. This singular dude, voluntarily hostage to this construct, the tank full of water, the life giving substance which makes up the majority of the planet. Stuck in place by the shackles of spectacle and challenge. The objective is to free one's self from both the chains/straps and the tank before drowning. Like I said, I'm not certain if this was ever a genuine feat of strength and daring by human heroes, or a bold faced illusion with trick locks and easily slip-able mechanisms to ensure the liberation of the charlatan conman. I like to think they were really escaping. That getting out of entirely bonkers predicaments is physically possible. That through will and integrity, escape from hard places can actually happen.