The Kansas Space Program

This series was inspired by a trip to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida in August 2010.  While my family and I were getting a tour of the campus, we looked out the window on the tour bus and saw a funnel cloud coming out of the sky.  Seeing the funnel cloud was ironic, because my family and I are from Kansas, which is in the middle of tornado alley.  This ironic event is still talked about in my family two years later, and the event also helped create interest of what would happen if the space center was placed in a Kansas environment.  By using certain elements of the space center, I placed them in a Kansas setting. Each piece plays off of the irony of one experience in Florida.

Tornado Lift-Off

Materials: Water Soluble Oil

24"x30"

November 2012

Sunflower Exploration

Materials: Water Soluble Oil

24"x30"

December 2012

Windmill

Materials: Water Soluble Oil

24"x30"

December 2012

Shuttle Duster

Materials: Water Soluble Oil

24"x30"

December 2012

Sinbad the Sailor

This illustration is inspired by the story of Sinbad the Sailor from Arabian Nights.  The part that I am showing is when the large monster picks-up Sinbad to see if he can eat him.  But, if you have not read it, I'm not going to tell you what happens next.
I did this project on scratchboard, which was a challenge (since this is my second time doing it).

November 2012

Scratchboard

11"x15"

Scuba Divers, Libraries, and Bones- An Improbable Event

For this project, I chose a random activity (scuba diving), object (bones), and setting (library).  I combined the three to create a random, improbable event.  The biggest challenge of this was somehow making all three of these work to look like it could happen.

Materials: Pen and Ink

11"x15"

October 2012

At The Mountains of Madness

For this illustration piece, I wanted to show my interpretation of The Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft.  Unlike the story, I also included a little toy astronaut to be my character.  I drew it in a way that the contrast made it feel like something is watching the little astronaut, as he is walking into the darkness.

Materials- charcoal

11"x15"

September 2012

Memphis Zoo Drawing

A drawing from my Drawing Composition class from the past Spring 2012 semester. This drawing was done on location at the Memphis Zoo.

Memphis Zoo- March 2012- charcoal, conte, ink on toned paper