You don’t have to travel all the way to San Francisco to marvel at the Golden Gate Bridge. My most recent poster in the Famous World Landmarks series is now available. It makes a striking companion piece to London, New York, Paris and Manhattan. The image is available in several sizes as a gicleé print. Simply head over to art.com to purchase your copy of Steve Forney’s San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge.
I’m happy to announce that my Kings Canyon National Park poster is available as a gicleé print through art.com. These prints are high quality and printed on archival paper. You may choose from several sizes and they are perfect for framing. Click here to get Steve Forney’s Kings Canyon National Park poster.
I’m delighted to announce that my two Mt. Whitney posters are available as a gicleé prints through art.com. These prints are high quality and printed on archival paper. You may choose from several sizes and they are perfect for framing. Click here to get Steve Forney’s Mt. Whitney, daytime version or Mt. Whitney, nighttime version.
I’m delighted to announce that my Sequoia National Park poster is available as a gicleé print through art.com. These prints are high quality and printed on archival paper. You may choose from several sizes and they are perfect for framing. Click here to get Steve Forney’s Sequoia poster.
There’s no ambiguity with this sign. It beckons hungry motorists for miles. Perhaps a sign below stating “get gas” would be a humorous addition?
Over the years I’ve made several trips along Interstate 5 traveling back and forth between the the Bay Area and Southern California. At the Frazier Park exit, near the town of Lebec, stood a giant neon eat sign. For some odd reason I was always amused to see it. Perhaps it’s because neon is a beautiful art that has been surpassed by more cost-effective signage? It’s just a guess, but it seems that they don’t make them like they used to and that’s a shame.
The EAT sign is an icon from the post-war era. The sign at Frazier Park is just one of countless others that were visible along America’s highways. It must have been a sight to view the colorful, flashing neon signs along the original Route 66. Growing up in Southern California in the 1960s and 70s, I can still recall jumping neon signs. Funny little characters who appeared stationary in the daytime came to life at night. The Mt. Baldy drive-in theatre in La Verne, California, was one of my favorites with its skiers racing down the slopes.
Here is a close up shot. The layer with the neon tubes was reduced in opacity to around 75%. I didn’t do much research on neon signs. I looked at a few Google images to get an idea of the tube and bracket placement, but most of it is from my imagination. The image was created exclusively in Adobe Illustrator.
As I write, the 2012 London Olympics are in full swing. Prior to the opening ceremonies, a tremendous amount of work has gone into the promotion of the games. Photographers, graphic designers, illustrators and film makers, to name a few, have been employed to create the visual presentation. Early in my career, way back in 1995, I was contacted by McCann-Erickson Atlanta to create images for the Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay. It was my biggest job to date and I was thrilled that they admired my work enough to hire little ol’ me. Near complete creative freedom was given as long as the Olympic rings, the Coca-Cola script logo and the words “1996 Olympic Torch Relay” were used. Oh, and they were emphatic about avoiding “Pepsi blue” in the color scheme. After receiving approval for the pencil sketches, these images were done in airbrush and acrylics on illustration board. This was few years prior to owning a computer and learning Photoshop and Illustrator. If I only had those tools at my disposal!
The image on the left is very Art Deco and reminiscent of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, although that wasn’t my intention. The middle image was the most successful and was used for posters sold at venues promoting the torch relay. The image on the right was rejected as a poster because it appeared too dark overall. They told me that it looked like the “hand of God” was reaching down to take the torch. Well, that’s what sometimes happens when facing a tight deadline with no time to make alterations, especially when working in a traditional medium like airbrush and acrylics. It would have been much different if working digitally.
Coke used two of these images on t-shirts. It was pretty cool when I saw a guy on TV wearing the shirt with the flag and two torches.
The ominous image with “the hand of God” may have failed as a poster, however, they loved the idea of the “Ameriscape” with various regional icons. The design was incorporated into a collectible pin. The two torch image was also made into a collectible pin.
In retrospect, this early job gave a boost to my budding career. Working on a high-profile job under a very tight deadline forced me to grow. It was cool to be part of the Olympic promotion and it was a great addition to my portfolio.
Yosemite’s Half Dome makes another appearance, this time under a starry night sky and illuminated under a bright moonlight. When creating this image and envisioning the color scheme, I couldn’t decide whether to portray Half Dome in daytime or nighttime. Why not both? With the magic of Adobe Illustrator, anything is possible. It was simply a matter of duplicating the image and making the necessary color changes.
One day, or night rather, I plan to see Half Dome under a full moon. It must be an awe-inspiring sight with the moonlight reflecting off of Yosemite’s glacially polished granite.
Half Dome is bathed in warm afternoon light in my latest addition to the National Parks series. The palette is kept to a minimum of under 10 colors and is reminiscent of the great WPA silkscreen posters of the 1930s. This image was created using Adobe illustrator.
For a long time I’ve wanted to create an image to promote green technology. It ties into my interest in peak oil theory, resource depletion, and sustainability. I wasn’t sure what image to use, but then it came to me like an illuminated light bulb. The light bulb is used to signify the “ah-ha!” or Eureka! moment when an idea or solution is realized. Why not use a compact florescent bulb as a play on the traditional light bulb? In keeping the image simple and direct, I chose to use a black silhouette of a man’s head. It must be one of my influences, French poster artist Jean Carlu, emerging from my subconscious.
Later I was informed that compact florescent bulbs, although more efficient than traditional bulbs, actually contain toxic chemicals. Perhaps they are not as green as once believed. Oh well, toxic or not, the image still communicates the message of efficient solutions to the use of the earth’s limited resources.
Here’s another image that took on life after sitting dormant in my sketchbook. I’ve always like creating images that use dramatic perspective. It’s a great way to convey power and a monumental feel.
Every illustration starts with a crude sketch. Forget about making it perfect when getting the vision down on paper. It’s the essence that I want to capture. If this were a commissioned job, then then next sketches would be very tight and refined. But as this is a personal project, I’ll skip the refinement and scan the crude sketch into Adobe Illustrator. It will be edited and refined there. No back and forth with an art director for this one.
Here are the vanishing points used for this illustration. All elements are based on these two points. There could have been a third one at the top, but no need on this illustration. A separate layer is created for the vanishing point guides.
