2013 Writing Contest

Here's some work I did recently for the Philadelphia City Paper, who I always enjoy working with. This time, AD Reseca Peskin contacted me to do the cover as well as an illustration inside the issue for their annual Writing Contest issue. The winning fiction story, which you can read here, is about a woman who works as a casino card dealer. When her child dies, she and her husband take a trip to New Orleans to help get their mind off of their loss.
Reseca had the idea for the cover of a black voodoo pin, which is used to relieve pain, pushed through the suicide king playing card. As for the illustration inside the issue, she had the idea of an airplane made out of playing cards.
When I began sketching, I went through several variations just to push the ideas.

Cover sketches

Plane sketches

We wound up combining the normal king face and my more gruesome skull king into one and going with the plane covered in the elements from the card rather than made out of cards.
I had a great time working on both pieces in all of their great detail.

Final

Final

Thanks again to Reseca for a great gig!

--CKL--

The Battle of Hogwarts

Here's the poster for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and I think it might be my favorite of this poster series thus far. Or at least tied with Chamber.
Wonderfully directed by David Yates, this movie is such a satisfying conclusion to the franchise. It's swift and doesn't waste a second away from the story. Although that ends up leaving out some key parts from the book. its a solid, emotional, and impressive film as well as a great bookend to the films.
So when it came to the poster, I decided to pare down and concentrate solely on the battle between Harry and Voldemort in the Hogwarts courtyard.

Detail - Voldemort 

Hogwarts  has been beautifully captured in the films since day one (and I loved depicting it before on Prisoner) so I really wanted it dominate the image on top. I feel like it really drives home the point that Hogwarts is Harry's true home and it is under attack. Simple as that.

And with this one, I've got seven out of the eight posters done. Now time to go back to the very beginning with Sorcerer's Stone. I originally started Sorcerer's after Chamber, but was having trouble with what direction to take it. So I shelved it. That way, I could tackle the other movies that I simply enjoy more and get a more definite idea of what I was doing with these posters. Anyway, look for it soon!

--CKL--

P.S. Here's one of my favorite songs from the film score by Alexandre Desplat.

I've Just Had An Apostrophe

Hook is my favorite (non-Star Wars) movie, as has already been documented. That being said, when Joe from the Bottleneck Gallery asked me to participate in their next group show, I Love You Man, an ode to bromance, I thought of Hook and Smee right away.



I just adore every frame of this movie and this scene between Hook and Smee is a standout favorite. There's a great rapport between veteran actors Dustin Hoffman and Bob Hoskins and they are clearly having fun with their characters. From Hook's childish narcissism to Smee's idiot savant idea, they're an oddly perfect match for one another.

Sketches

So to show their bromance, I picked the specific moment where Smee is using his earwax to tweak Hook's mustache. Such a moment could only happen between true brosephs.

The show is running at the Bottleneck Gallery at 60 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11249 from Friday May 10th until the 26th.  Given the quality of their past shows, I Love You Man should be filled with great work by some ridiculously talented artists. A portion of the proceeds from the show will be donated to the World Wildlife Fund. Sales online for work from the show begin at noon on Saturday May 11th at http://www.bottleneckgallery.com/collections/i-love-you-man

The piece is available as a 10x18" limited edition giclee print through the Bottleneck Gallery at http://www.bottleneckgallery.com/collections/i-love-you-man/products/cameron-k-lewis-ive-just-had-an-apostrophe. Printed 300 gsm fine art rag.

--CKL--

The Silver Doe

Here's my poster for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Other than Prisoner of Azkaban, this is probably my favorite of the HP films. Directed by David Yates, the film is essentially the calm before the storm, before the final showdowns at the Battle of Hogwarts. It's surprisingly mature and emotionally rich, while still providing impressive action beats.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione go on the run and try to finish Dumbledore's work in destroying the Horcruxes. Meanwhile, Voldemort grows stronger and gains power and influence across the wizarding world.

Detail - Patronus

Front and center is the silver doe patronus that leads Harry to the sword of Gryffindor underneath the ice. The patronus makes for a great image and is pretty beautiful considering who sent the doe to help Harry.

With this poster, I'm 3/4 of the way done with six out of the eight films. Next up is the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which I'm tremendously excited about, before I go back and knock out Sorcerer's Stone.

--CKL--