Joseph Eyes-Like-Rain (1998) | Last Light, Geyserville (2020)
Unrelated, but related
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When I was first asked to contribute to the Doomtown game, it was for this character, assigned just as a name, without any particular description or action requested. That’s the kind of thing that is unusual now. Characters are usually well-described, sometimes pre-designed, and often requested to appear in some narrative, action scene.
The name of this character decided the portrayal. I could not imagine such a character being some bad-ass warrior, even if he might have been when he was younger. So I portrayed him as pensive, weathered and older, putting the sparkle into his eye. That the landscape and sky are also end-of-day peaceful felt like the right feel as well. Looking back on it over 25 years later, the sensitive handling of the bit of landscape presaged some of my more recent pure landscape paintings. Apparently this was an aspect of my aesthetic that couldn’t commonly find expression in my illustration work, but I found a way to present it later.
Normally, I like these articles to feature one main subject and when possible, preliminary or process images. Sometimes, when none exist (or are allowed to show) I might show related images or sketches. Here, I’ve got nothing as far as those are concerned. But that reflection on the landscape caused me to dig out this landscape study I painted in 2020 (just a couple of weeks before everything Shut Down). I used to run by these hills in Geyserville at evening all the time. It isn’t a study I did anything with, nor do I intend to develop it further. Sometimes, these kinds of studies are good just to establish that: upon sketching it out, does it inspire you to jump into a larger work, or is that good enough of an expression?
