Tributaries
- Victoria Johnson
- 22 hours ago
- 9 min read
I've been on a tribute art kick. What's commonly known as 'fan art'. The reason I hesitate to use the term fan art is because fan makes me think of fanatic and that's rarely something I would claim to be of anything or anyone in popular culture.
Of course, I like certain things. I've created many art tributes of classic jazz musicians and of the original Twilight Zone series, both I happen to like very much. Yet they're just tribute-aries that feed into the larger river of collective works. When it comes to tributes, it's not really about what I like or am drawn to. It's about a certain image I see that gives me a gut punch that compels me to 'art' it.
Having said that, here's a presentation of some of my own favorite tribute art pieces, and the whys and wherefores behind creating them.
"Dean and Wood"
James Dean and Natalie Wood / Rebel Without a Cause
THE STORY: As much as I like classic films, I've never watched Rebel Without a Cause all the way through. But that doesn't mean I can't have a heart melt over the scene where the James Dean character kisses the Natalie Wood character tenderly on the temple. Who wouldn't be affected by a scene such as that?
THE ART: Dean and Wood is comprised of almost 50 effects and texture layers. Like most of my art, every portion has its texture layering. Notice the texture of roses in her hair? Even if the finished piece is subtle, the layering is always an intense part of my creative process.
"Chet"
Chesney Henry Baker Jr. / American Jazz Trumpeter
THE STORY: When I first heard My Funny Valentine sung by Chet Baker, I swooned and I'm not the swooning type. Dubbed 'the Prince of Cool' his talent and fame would be eclipsed by a life of substance abuse and incarceration, ending with a beating over an alleged drug deal gone bad that damaged his teeth and forced him to have to retrain on the trumpet. His life would end by a fall from a balcony in Amsterdam while high on cocaine and heroin, leaving a bittersweet legacy of a tortured, talented artist.
THE ART: There are many publicity photos of a young Chet Baker on the 'net, but I chose this one to 'art' for the play of light and shadow, liking the contemplative pose and the somber eyes that spoke of a troubled life. While I originally thought of a cool blue palette, fitting for his cool jazz style, I opted for an energetic red, liking the juxtaposition.
"Florence"
Evelyn Florence Nesbit / American Model, Actor and Dancer
THE STORY: Evelyn Nesbit was a much sought after artist's and advertiser's model of the gilded age, considered the world's first supermodel. She was the inspiration for illustrator Charles Dana Gibson's 'Gibson Girl' and the 'face' of the rising Coca Cola company. She was what one would call a 'fatal beauty', embroiled in the murder trial of the century.
THE ART: In the original photo, Evelyn is posed before a plain white background. How boring. With her beauty being the focus, I wanted a background that would enhance but not overwhelm that beauty. Florence was chosen to be featured in the 14th edition of Novum Artis magazine, a generous two-page spread and the first art collector publication I'll be featured in as an artist.
"Ella"
Ella Fitzgerald / American Jazz Vocalist
THE STORY: My gallery of jazz greats has plenty of room for such a big presence as the lovely Ella Fitzgerald, the ageless voice of a generation. Called Lady Ella by Sinatra, also called The First Lady and the Queen of Jazz, she was the most popular female jazz singer for well over half a century. Simply jazz royalty.
THE ART: My All That's Jazz series of images share many of the same textures to make it a somewhat cohesive collection (even though I'm somewhat allergic to the word cohesive when it comes to art). The cool palette is not something I usually opt for. Though emerald green is my favorite color, I seldom use it and rarely use the color blue outside of accents. But on the lovely Ella, these colors work just fine.
"Etta"
Etta James / American Singer
THE STORY: Etta James can belt out a song, sultry and soulful and is one of few artists who bridged R&B, Soul, Blues, and Jazz over her decades-long career. Best known for the song At Last, my personal favorite is I'd Rather Go Blind. When I listen on a good pair of headphones I'm transported to a mid-century, smoke-filled room of blues and broken hearts. Something she was quite familiar with as another troubled talent who was plagued by substance abuse and abusive relationships.
THE ART: Etta is the latest entry in my All That's Jazz series of images. and like the other images, she shares some of the same visual hallmarks, the watercolor brushstroke texture being more prominent in this particular piece. I love her grayscale image fronting a harsh yellow background. Something about it feels very 'lively'.
"Girl Crush Socialite"
Edie Sedgwick / American Actor and Fashion Icon
THE STORY: Edith Minturn Sedgwick was very much a part of 60s rebellion culture, called a Youthquaker in Vogue Magazine. Born into a prominent New England family, she was a socialite before she became an arthouse movie sensation thanks to Andy Warhol. Her rise was meteoric, her descent into addiction and madness just as quick. Before her life was cut short at age 28, she modeled, acted and charmed with huge, dark expressive eyes and lost little girl demeanor. Another beauty that was equally inspiring and tragic.
THE ART: It's easy to see from photos of Edie why she was such a pop culture icon. It wasn't hard to capture that spirit in creating this art. The pixie cut inspired by Twiggy, the over the top, dramatic eye make up says it all. Her eyes are the principle focus of this piece. The rest is secondary.
"Girl with the Pearl Earbud"
Modern take on Johannes Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring
THE STORY: Had too much fun giving the Vermeer classic a modern update. Girl with the Peal Earbud is Ennui with a capital 'E'. Evinced by the dead-eyed stare of the social media scroller. The designer caffeine junkie equipped with the little cancelers of atmospheric noise for the din of playlists and podcasts. The killers of personal connection...ain't life in the 21st Century grand?
THE ART: The biggest problem of being a digital artist for me is going down rabbit holes of tweaking layers and color palettes and lighting effects. It can go on for days if I let it. In that vein, I did several versions of this piece, this being my favorite that looks as if a charcoal sketch and gouache painting had a baby.
"High Lonesome"
Roscoe Holcombe / American-Appalachian Folk Musician
THE STORY: The banjo is one of my favorite musical instruments and I'm determined to teach myself to play, or pick, one day. As for Banjo pickers, I have a fascination with Roscoe Holcombe, an Appalachian folk singer, guitarist and picker from Daisy, Kentucky. He was a talented musician but music was not his life's ambition. He was a coal miner. He was a construction laborer. Until he met John Cohen who would push him into folk music prominence. Holcombe inspired the high lonesome sound, a nasal way of singing rooted in the Regular Old Baptist vocal style, nowadays called Bluegrass.
THE ART: The original photo of Holcombe in front of a derelict wooden shack offended his wife as she though it a misrepresentation of depression-era grinding poverty that they were not living. But it was an iconic photo of a yesterday that would inspire this artist today. Of course nothing will do but sepia tint for the look of something old. In the original photo there are trees in the background, but I suck at drawing trees so I used a texture layer of ink blots and drips to represent trees. Don't laugh at my successful shortcuts.
"Holly and Cat"
Audrey Hepburn and Orangey the cat / Breakfast at Tiffany's
THE STORY: Holly Golightly, the Audrey Hepburn character in Breakfast at Tiffany's, had commitment issues. She had a stray cat she called Cat simply because naming him was too much commitment. When Holly turns Cat loose from a taxi on a rain-soaked street, as a cat lover, I lose all sympathy for her at that point. But then there is this scene where Holly regrets her decision, searches for Cat and finds him in an alley. A happy, tearful reunion ensues that represents Holly embracing love and commitment. Gut punch time.
THE ART: Wanted to portray Holly and Cat as equally drenched as the rain pours down. I duplicated the image and offset it just a hair to get the very subtle blur of moisture. I layered a few distressed textures in the background to represent a grungy alley and a subtle blocky extrusion layer to give something as mundane as an alley artistic interest.
"Ignorance and Want"
From A Christmas Carol (1984)
STORY: When I first saw A Christmas Carol (the George C. Scott as Scrooge version) and the Ghost of Christmas Present opened his robe to reveal the two wretched creatures, Ignorance and Want, hiding beneath, it freaked me out. They looked some scary but interesting at the same time.
The gut punch was strong with this one.
THE ART: When I recreated these forlorn figures from a screen capture, I knew the texture layering was of importance to convey grime, corruption, and despair. Some of the textures used: grunge spatter, storm clouds, oil hatch marks and a watercolor overlay. I realize not all the art I create will hang proudly on household walls, but that's okay. I create for pleasure and practice and that glimmer of hope that what people find beautiful is truly in the eye of the beholder.
"Kamancha"
Roy Smila / Bandmember of Israeli ethno-electronic band Anna RF
THE STORY: This was one of my very first creations in 2018 when I started getting serious about art, not just playing around with the digital implements. This piece was one of a few that was submitted to the Laguna Art-a-Fair jury and part of what won me a place in their 2019 artist roster. Kamancha is the instrument pictured here, a violin sound with eastern flavor.
THE ART: This piece was where I first started serious experimentation with texture layering. To mimic the look and feel of the Negev (where the music video was shot), I decided to use real rock texture as part of the background elements. Although this is a very early work and I can see amateurish issues, it's still a favorite of many.
"Slash"
Guns n Roses Lead Guitarist / November Rain
THE STORY: I always thought it was an epic moment in the November Rain video when Slash separates from the wedding taking place in a church in the middle of a desert (why in the middle of a desert?) and starts wailing on the guitar in an epic solo (without electricity no less!). Sometimes art doesn't make sense. I can say that, I'm an artist.
THE ART: This was another piece where I went down a rabbit hole of experimentation with color. I ended up with five different options for Slash and got so muddled and indecisive I had to enlist the help of my daughter and a client, both of whom have a good eye for color and composition, to help me decide. In the end, the more logical golden sand hued won out, closest to the desert theme of the video.
"The Parallel"
Steve Forrest / Episode 11, Season 4 of The original Twilight Zone series
THE STORY: This image from the original Twilight Zone series is high on the gut-punch meter. Simply because I do consider myself a fan when it comes to this iconic television series and I've done many tributes to my favorite episodes.
THE ART: This piece is more illustration than art, displaying my strong graphic roots. I used very few texture layers to keep its vector integrity, keeping everything in grayscale to align with the original black and white episodes. I added only a dash of color to each piece at the suggestion of a friend. Guess I'm not too puffed up to embrace another's suggestion now and then.
"Tippi and Crow"
Tippi Hedren / Publicity still for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds
THE STORY: When I was a kid, The Birds scared the sugar-honey-iced-tea out of me, especially when that murder of crows attacked the school children fleeing and screaming down the street. You would think I'd be afraid of crows from then on, but no, they're actually one of my favorite bird species for their keen intelligence, giving of gifts and lighting of cigarettes.
THE ART: Purple background? Truly not my forte, but I like it here with the bubble texture. I feature many corvids in my artworks. I also feature many a woman smoking a cigarette and don't know the thinking behind that as it's a habit I left behind long ago and would not encourage. Hopefully my art doesn't either.
"What Up Ringo?"
Ringo Starr / 1966 Photoshoot
THE STORY: Don't blame me for putting the revolver in Ringo's hand. This art was created from a 1966 photoshoot, imagery that would be sensitive and highly controversial even in today's dark and violent world. I did research on this photo trying to find out the why of it but turned up nothing conclusive. Just Ringo, the most easy-going Beatle, being controversial I guess.
THE ART: I figured the most gut-punchy of gut punch images would benefit from a dramatic color palette and gritty texture effects including sand, cracked asphalt and what was a bright floral layer with an exclusion effect to make it monochromatic and more dramatic.
In closing I will say, yes. my inspirations can be strange, but I won't try to defend them here. I is who I is, my art is what it is, and most of you love it anyway.
Comments