Sunday, October 7, 2012

The Master


Here's a personal piece I just finished up that's based on the new Paul Thomas Anderson film The Master starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams.
I've seen the film twice now and I can sincerely say that it's incredible - challenging, distant, and powerful. Between the performances, cinematography, and direction, it's sure to be an awards juggernaut. Please note that I'm definitely biased as I'm a big fan of Paul Thomas Anderson's movies. Here are two watercolors I did back in college based on There Will Be Blood.)


Walking out of the theater the second time, I really wanted to draw this twisted kind of scowl that Phoenix's Freddie Quell seems to wear on his face throughout the movie.
In coming up with an idea for an image, I landed on the idea of a small, bent Freddie in the foreground, looking up at the massive form of Hoffman's Lancaster Dodd behind him. I imagined it as a poster for the film, with Dodd sort of posing and presenting himself for the viewer as the "writer, a doctor, a nuclear physicist, a theoretical philosopher" while Freddie peers up at him, unsure of the man he's fiercely following.




The wonderful Steve Brodner also recently tackled a Master illustration for the Village Voice, which you can see here.

--CKL--

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