It's Dangerous to Go Alone

   Here it is, the painting that got me back into painting after a four-year plush extravaganza! I was surprised at how easy—and frankly, how fun—it was to get back into it. And I'm pretty happy with the results as well. I truly enjoyed creating this piece!
   It's called , aka "Hitori de iku no ga kiken desu", aka "It's Dangerous to Go Alone", and it depicts the hero of The Legend of Zelda, who had been pursuing a couple of Octoroks, who cunningly led him to meet their mama.
   The game was created by the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto (do Mario and Donkey Kong ring a bell?), and originally released for the original, 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System. It will always hold a special place in my heart: I sunk a lot of hours into it when I was a kid, and it is a true classic that still has a great influence on gaming today.
   Here are some in-progress photos that show my painting coming to life:

The drawing, which I transferred onto canvas after laying down a base color

Finished lifework has been painted

Starting to fill in the color (and making decisions along the way); initially I considered making this a full-color piece, but in the end I liked the dramatic impact of limited color

Filling in the Big Octorok

Starting to bring Link to life

TA-DAAAA!!!

   It's already on its way to the classic video game-themed show at Gallery 1988: Venice, opening Friday, September 16 in Santa Monica, CA. Over 90 artists will be participating, so there will be tons of variety as usual. Here's a teaser. Here's the evite, as well as the evite from their VG show earlier this year, which I also love.