Picture in a Picture: “Fate”
Posted by Kathleen Benton on May 4, 2010
When I first developed this website to offer my skills as a traditional artist for hire never did I imagine that I would be asked to collaborate on a film! So then I was very pleased to accept the commission of a billboard design which will be part of the closing shot for a film called Fate. The film is a production made by Transcendent Films, a UK television and film production company based in Spain.
The film is to be entered as Chapter 4 of an ongoing film-making contest being sponsored by Canon USA and Vimeo called Beyond the Still. Each contestant is required to create film chapters based on the final still image of a previous film-maker’s chapter. Each month a winner of a chapter is chosen with seven chapters planned to complete the contest. I am, of course, very hopeful that Transcendent Films Chapter 4, Fate, is chosen to be the winner. Not only will my art work be part of the winning chapter, but as my billboard is the final still in the film it will automatically be included in the beginning of all entries for chapter 5!
It was the director Kris Koster’s idea that the final still image of this film be of a retro-styled billboard. I was asked to create the billboard which would include a portrait of the young boy chosen to act in this chapter. Using photos of the boy then it was a bit of a challenge to make, as the director required, this sweet boy look mischievous and even a bit sinister, all while keeping the wholesome tone of dental hygiene and the retro-style. Below are my first attempt at the portrait, trying to be faithful to the photos, and also the final version as per the director’s suggestions. The portrait was done by hand using acrylic paint and pencil on Bristol board. The billboard background and text were made using Photoshop and and final version of the portrait was then added.
This month’s chapter contest has closed as of midnight last night. Within a week the film should be available for viewing. I’ll keep you posted on the results and add will add the still to this post when it becomes available. Good luck to Kris Koster and to all the other collaborators of Fate. I am very honored to have been a part of the team!
Postscript – 5/5/10: The film has been released online at Vimeo and here it is:
The Story Beyond The Still: Fate from Kris Koster on Vimeo.
To make sense of the complete short feature made to date you can view this and all prior chapters at Vimeo using this link:
http://www.vimeo.com/groups/beyondthestill/videos/11445196
For more information and to see all chapter winners and finalists go to: http://www.vimeo.com/groups/beyondthestill
Trancendent Films has already done well in the contest to date. Their Chapter 2 entry, The Mob, was chosen as one of the top ten finalists. To find out more information on Transcendent Films Spain visit their website: http://www.transcendentfilms.com/canonvimeo.htm
Kathleen Benton
© 2010 All rights reserved Kathleen Benton | You Can Hire an Artist
All comments are moderated. Only comments expressed in English will be considered. Please allow twenty-four hours for your comment to appear.
Half-Naked Birthday: Leonardo and Thomas Hart Benton
Posted by Kathleen Benton on Apr 15, 2010
This Half-Naked Thursday, April 15th, is tax day in the US. So a few diversions from the inevitable are in order and, as always, art does provide.
This day in history is also the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452–1519) and Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889–1975). Little else will align these two artists. Born almost four hundred years apart, their styles are naturally quite different. Leonardo, working at the center of his art world at the same time of Raphael and Michelangelo, strived in his painting for classic beauty, proportion, and composition. Thomas Hart Benton, on the other hand, eschewing the art worlds of New York and Paris for a Midwestern regionalist lifestyle and subject matter, worked in a decidedly mannerist style. Leonardo was probably a homosexual and Thomas Hart Benton was a documented homophobe. I wonder how an astrologist would work out all these contradictions.
Here are examples of each artists approach to myth:
Apple of Discord, 1949. Tempera glazed with oil on gessoed mahogany panel, 33 ½ x 43 ¼ inches, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Thomas Hart Benton, Persephone, ca. 1938, Alternate Title: Rape of Persephone, Tempera with oil glazes on canvas mounted on panel, 72 1/8 x 56 1/16 inches, Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, Missouri
For more scholarly information on Leonardo probable homosexuality and an extensive bibliography for further reading click here. For more on Thomas Hart Benton’s life and views read his biography at The Artchive.
Kathleen Benton
© 2010 All rights reserved Kathleen Benton | You Can Hire an Artist
All comments are moderated. Only comments expressed in English will be considered. Please allow twenty-four hours for your comment to appear.
Bored in The Office (Langeweile im Büro)?
Posted by Kathleen Benton on Mar 10, 2010
I cannot complain about having a great deal of artwork to do, but it does take time away from regularly writing for this blog. But here is a drawing portfolio by an anonymous artist that was shared with me (thank you Christin) to amuse you until I’ve more time to write. I have no idea who made this portfolio of drawings using dead flies, but as the writing is in German we have a hint. If anyone claims to be the artist/author please do contact me.
If anyone takes the suggestion and makes their own drawings please share them with me; I might add it to the portfolio!
- Kathleen Benton
(Click on images to enlarge and read details. Click again to return to page.)
© 2010 All rights reserved You Can Hire an Artist
All comments are moderated. Only comments expressed in English will be considered. Please allow twenty-four hours for your comment to appear.
