Thursday, May 5, 2011

Larger Than Life

I drew this larger than life-size pastel for a film festival lobby last century, obviously referencing a famous movie, but trying to not duplicate a specific photo. I tried to bring a little heat to it.

Drawing ©Thom Buchanan — Billowing Dress — 1995

Any resemblance to a famous movie star is intentional, but the drawing was not made for commercial gain. I did not make one penny from it. And you shouldn't either. Anybody trying to do so is going to feel more than my wrath, but the wrath of a multi-million dollar estate. You've been warned.

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11 comments:

  1. Sam GMay 6, 2011 at 3:36 AM

    Very nice. I'm always amazed at how vibrant pastel can be. How long did this take to create?

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  2. Unca JeffyMay 6, 2011 at 4:59 AM

    Gorgeous Thom. Nice to see you sharing your own stuff here.

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  3. Thomas Haller BuchananMay 6, 2011 at 6:16 AM

    Thanks Sam. The other nice thing about pastels is how fast they can be used to create something. I think that took less than two hours for the drawing (to include a tea break to analyze what the finishing touches should be).

    Thanks Jeff. I figured if this is an autobiographical examination of the pictorial arts, I should slip a bit more of my junk in here.

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  4. M. D. JacksonMay 6, 2011 at 6:34 AM

    Nice work, Thom.

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  5. AnnieMay 6, 2011 at 9:15 AM

    Nice work! I wrote a very short poem you might enjoy, that refers to that famous photo.

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  6. AnnieMay 6, 2011 at 9:23 AM

    Nice work! I wrote a very short poem a couple of years ago, that you might enjoy, referring to that famous photo.

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  7. Thomas Haller BuchananMay 6, 2011 at 9:32 AM

    Thanks M.D.!

    Thanks Annie! I'd love to read that.

    Thank Annie! I'd love to read that.

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  8. AnnieMay 6, 2011 at 9:38 AM

    Sorry for the duplicate! Same poem, and here's the link: http://anniekingwrites.blogspot.com/2008/10/who-is-marilyn-monroe_22.html

    (I didn't say it was a good poem.)

    Have a wonderful birthday weekend!

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  9. Thomas Haller BuchananMay 6, 2011 at 11:31 AM

    Duplicates make it twice as good to hear from you! It's going to be a working birthday and weekend, but it'll be nice enough. Thanks again, Annie!

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  10. LC DouglassMay 6, 2011 at 5:57 PM

    Odd, there are a lot of Marilyn blog posts floating around today. But this was the best. Beautiful piece Thom. Lovely light, it has a fifties 'feel' to it - and some sexiness tempered with nostalgia.

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  11. borkyMay 7, 2011 at 6:29 PM

    Well, we knew you had an artist's eye, Thomas, now we know you've got an artist's hand!

    Personally, I love pastels, but using them powerfully, even effectively's something of a mystery to me, (or, at best, hit and miss).

    I tell you what, though, this whole copyright business's in danger of putting a stop to the arts - it's really getting out of hand, it really is.

    That iconic 'modern art' Obama image is, to me, a true work of art. The original photo's nothing special - good, but no better than a million similar good shots by a millions other good photogs.

    Yet the guy who transformed it from pewter to solid diamond, (helping the original work stand out and achieve a stratospheric level of fame it could never've otherwise achieved), was in danger of getting his arse sued off; and even then he's only got a 50-50 split of the takings.

    I'm a great believer in share the wealth - but there's such a thing as fairness, too.

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