Royal Arts Academy: Leroy the Lion

Leroy, the Lion who would be King. 

Back in 2011 I was asked to create a simple black and white image to be displayed on t-shirts to help advertise the summer programs being offered at the Royal Arts Academy. I didn't want a grinning sun with sunglasses or some other silly seasonal graphic i'd always seen used for summer advertising. Not only would that be stereotypical but it would limit itself to being used for only this one purpose. I wanted something that would have wide appeal and if it caught on could be reused over and over. I decided we needed a mascot, and the visual of a lion in a crown had long been floating around in my mind. This would turn out to be a fun challenge; I'd need to create my own version of a cartoon lion who wouldn't instantly make the viewer think of the Disney's own Lion King. After a day or two of sketching, Leroy was born! The school's owners and students instantly loved him and he has become the mascot I hoped he would be, appearing each year on summer flyers and shirts and eventually all major advertising. 

Check out Royal Arts and all their great programs:

www.RoyalArtsMD.com

Dri’-fa and Her Prince, Spin Head

A piece based on the Dutch Fairy Tale of Dri’-fa. The story of a Young girl that befriends a spider who is actually a handsome Prince under an evil enchantment.

The only record of this story comes from a book of Dutch Fairy Tales and legends retold in English and compiled in 1918 by American teacher and historian William Elliot Griffis.

Miss Steinvoort

Watching my amazingly talented kids at the Royal Arts Academy work so hard week after week has inspired me to do my first acrylic painting in over ten years.
Many thanks to Yulli Chong for photographing this piece for me!

Mlle Tarot, The Dust Witch

"A mechanic, working at the back of an upright glass-fronted coffin booth, released a trip wire, This made the last cog click within the machinery under the sign, MLLE TAROT, THE DUST WITCH. The wax woman's figure within the glass box nodded her head...Her cold wax hand brushed the Dust of Destiny on a ledge within the coffin. Her eyes did not see; they were sewn shut with laced black-widow web, dark threads. A waxwork fright fright good and proper, she was."

-Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes.

The Ocelot Goes to Auction

A copy of 'The Ocelot', the original was part of a silent auction held on May 14, 2011 to benefit the Mater Amoris Montessori School in Ashton, Maryland. I'm still waiting to hear what the final price was, but with a starting bid of $40 i'm thrilled to hear this piece went for over $100.



Some of my students from the Royal Arts Academy who asked me to submit a piece of work for their school's auction.

www.royalartsacademyonline.com
www.materamoris.com

Victor's Creature

"I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated it's limbs...the beauty of my dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the creature I created, I rushed out of the room."

-Mary Shelly's Frankenstein.

Betty White

Colored Pencil Sketch.

Neverwhere

Croup and Vandemar: Eyes gouged, noses twisted, tounges pierced, chins cleft, and throats stilt.

My concept of the macabre Monty Python-esque henchmen from Neil Gaiman's novel Neverwhere.

My Dear Wormwood,

Your affectionate uncle,
Screwtape
(As dictated to Toadpipe, for his Abysmal Sublimity Under-Secretary Screwtape, T.E., B.S., ect.)

Carnivàle: Samson

Mr. Ibis

The Grand High Witch

"One child a week is fifty-two a year, Squish them and squiggle them and make them disappear. That is the motto of all Witches"

-Roald Dhal's The Witches.

And that's how Sue C's it!

TreeHouse School of Music

My work is now the face of the brand new TreeHouse School of Music! For more information visit www.treehouseschoolofmusic.com

The old enchantress

Ben

The original sketch, which I almost prefer to the colored version..

Picture it: Miami, 1985...

Mad Hatter revisited...

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Now is the winter of my discontent...