anonyrrie: Illustration Friday - Skyline

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Illustration Friday - Skyline


Theoretikos

This mighty empire hath but feet of clay:
Of all its ancient chivalry and might
Our little island is forsaken quite:
Some enemy hath stolen its crown of bay,
And from its hills that voice hath passed away
Which spake of Freedom: O come out of it,
Come out of it, my Soul, thou art not fit
For this vile traffic-house, where day by day
Wisdom and reverence are sold at mart,
And the rude people rage with ignorant cries
Against an heritage of centuries.
It mars my calm: wherefore in dreams of Art
And loftiest culture I would stand apart,
Neither for God, nor for his enemies.

- Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

(photoshop)

76 Comments:

Blogger claudine hellmuth said...

great Oscar Wilde quote and wonderful illo to go with it!

1:06 PM  
Blogger TheTart said...

Wow! Very cool ~ love the colours. Great quote too.

Smooch,
The Tart

1:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the colours! Very clever take on the theme. And then to quote Oscar Wilde, one of my favourite writers, that just blew me off my feet!

2:27 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Wonderful, as always.

3:01 PM  
Blogger rachel stoleru haim said...

love this work

3:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You give us something to think about. I stayed for the art and the Wilde poem. Interesting rhyme scheme for a sonnet.

4:14 PM  
Blogger Danezka said...

So beautiful! I love the colors and organic feel to the city skyscrapers.

4:51 PM  
Blogger ° said...

it might be oscar that inspired you but it reminds me a lot of alfreds "The birds". Great piece

5:12 PM  
Blogger Liz Jones said...

Excellent juxtaposition!! Nice!

5:21 PM  
Blogger lucrezia said...

Striking image!

6:55 PM  
Blogger Cez said...

Waoo Carla it's beautiful!!!!

7:11 PM  
Blogger fenris said...

this is really striking... i love the silhouettes of trees....

7:20 PM  
Blogger Teri said...

Just gorgeous! And very different than your usual style.

7:22 PM  
Blogger tiffini elektra x said...

Oh wow beautiful - the colors and the black and white of the buildings. Very striking - great contrast! And the Wilde is perfect.

10:23 PM  
Blogger Willie Baronet said...

Likey likey! And finally a reprieve from the tattoo lady. ;-P

11:14 PM  
Blogger Maureen said...

Beautiful picture. I would never have put Wilde as the author of that lovely poem.

11:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the composition and mood in this one. I think the only thing I long for is your organic line-work in your other pieces. I'm not aware of your goals for this piece, but if it's not intended, personality is lacking in this one unlike , say, the Jungle one.

12:59 AM  
Blogger Aravis said...

The tree against the sky really makes this illustration for me. Excellent imagery!

1:42 AM  
Blogger gudbrandsdottir said...

Great work Carla, love the blue-green-ish sky, it makes a great contrast agains the black.

4:34 AM  
Blogger georg said...

Great words, great image - and your colours underlines the mood. Very fascinating - especially the blue sky with the big green moon and the tree close behind - beautiful!

5:11 AM  
Blogger String said...

Lovely illo, beautiful - an Oscar Wilde play was on telly last night - such genius! Thanks for the nice comments on my blog - as ususal your art is top quality.

5:56 AM  
Blogger Joy Eliz said...

Love this one!!

9:04 AM  
Blogger Cream said...

Lovely, Carla! I like the light the moon casts on the buildings.

10:33 AM  
Blogger Fernanda Guedes said...

Great image!

11:07 AM  
Blogger JO said...

Your skyline is beautiful. I love the moon and the trees makes a lovely lacy texture.

12:17 PM  
Blogger murphy girl said...

this is quite powerful!

1:48 PM  
Blogger Joe said...

One big drawin girl, love it!

1:55 PM  
Blogger Amy Zaleski said...

Amazing color choice, Carla! The silhouette of the tree against those colors is so striking. And I like that you've incorporated that bit of nature against the urban scene. So nice....

2:23 PM  
Blogger Powpourri said...

I really love this Carla! No idea how you did it but it is wonderful. The sky really pops with that black around it. Love the tree. Brandi

6:03 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Stunning piece!! Beautiful!

9:23 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Love what you did in photoshop. the colors are perfect.
How is the painting coming along? Looking forward to seeing the finished piece.

12:22 AM  
Blogger Susan Schwake said...

carla, i would love this on a tee shirt! so bold and beautiful.

6:37 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is a great piece Carla. I love the threshold rendering of the skyline with the backdrop of colour through the shadow of the tree.
Your recent postings are fabulous too..sorry I have not been peeking as often as usual!
Marie

8:58 AM  
Blogger HARDWAX said...

Oscar Wilde gives the grim, dark view of the city, your piece tranforms the ugliness into poetry and beauty, with just a hint of what is lurking behind the glitter. Wow, wonderful work!

1:56 PM  
Blogger Sarah .B. Scott said...

Beautiful! I love the colors you used for the sky!

4:24 PM  
Blogger Debbie said...

This is absolutely wonderful! The way you worked the moon into the skyline is my favorite part. I also love your other illustrations in your blog! I can't wait to see the final "tatoo lady!" Thanks for your pen suggestion. I used a Pitt pen but perhaps it was a bit to fine a tip.

6:22 PM  
Blogger Andrea said...

I look at this today and today is a full moon! Beautiful!

7:23 PM  
Blogger The Unknown said...

Wonderful illo. Great quote. I love this post.
love

8:07 PM  
Blogger Tony LaRocca said...

great contrast & overlay in your picture. Beautiful work, as allways :)

9:11 PM  
Blogger Shano said...

You are far to eclectic, prolific and creative for your own good. I demand you to stop and desist. Every time I think it can't get better, you lift the rug out from under me and do something entirely different and fantastic - yet Carla style.

11:28 PM  
Blogger steve said...

Woah, this rules Carla! A bit of a departure for you--well done!

1:55 AM  
Blogger turquoise cro said...

I love it! I am a great friend of the MOON!

1:58 AM  
Blogger Regina said...

This has a very powerful and mystical quality to it. Really a very stunning image! Great choice of pem too!

9:39 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

this is gorgeous. love the colors. the background reminds me of an old batik i did.

11:34 AM  
Blogger El leo said...

P O W E R F U L.
there are 47 comments already, do I need to say something else? naaaahh, just powerful, and you know it ;)

4:52 PM  
Blogger Ellen Byrne said...

Whooooo!!! You woke me up!!! Thanks!

6:04 PM  
Blogger Robert McLaughlin said...

This is quite beautiful, Carla.

8:27 PM  
Blogger Ellen said...

Amazing work!

11:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The colors in this are just yummy! I love the lime green against the turquoise. Great skyline!
a.

11:58 PM  
Blogger andrea said...

Holy cow! 52 comments! You are too popular for my blood, Ms. K. But I can see why. Your image is a treat. As for Mr. Wilde, thank you. I live in the mighty empire, but love this vile traffic-house like no other city. I left it prematurely and since my dabbles in genealogy all lead back to London, I figure it's something in the Great Cosmic DNA. (Recommended reading: The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde -- can't remember the author's name.)

12:43 AM  
Blogger Gabrielle said...

Lovely colours, the combination of words and contemporary image is very poignant and makes Oscar Wilde's poem timeless

9:07 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How wonderful! the poem by Oscar Wilde and the beautiful composition you created!

10:36 AM  
Blogger Suzan said...

WOW very nicely done. Beautiful image.

11:02 AM  
Blogger valerie walsh said...

This is the perfect quote and I love the leaves sort of framing this illo and the colours and the feel are just wonderful!!!

12:13 PM  
Blogger Mustashrik said...

wow! how wonderful to see how your work has grown! :)

1:36 PM  
Blogger Edric Hsu said...

Hey Carla, good to be back on Illo Friday! I love your consistently evocative style and you always have an appropriate quote or verse to accompany your piece! :D

1:50 PM  
Blogger sugar mama said...

Wow! The party is clearly over here at Carla's! Ditto to many other comments, and the mood draws me in as much as the Wilde quote. It's very striking how the man-made buildings almost merge into the organic lines of the trees - which I love against the blue/green sky. Lovely.

6:18 PM  
Blogger AscenderRisesAbove said...

wow - how cool is this! it looks like something that would be on a silk scarf or special curtain.

6:25 PM  
Blogger letile said...

very powerful image!

7:15 PM  
Blogger Anette Heiberg said...

Nice! I like the strong contrasts in the black and white - and I love the tree in the background!

Anette
www.wynlen.no

7:31 PM  
Blogger constanthing said...

Beautiful, evokes some kind of autumnal sadness ...

8:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Brilliant! I love the drama of this piece, and the accompanying poem sets it off nicely. I love the way you relate your art to poetry, they reflect off each other.

10:02 PM  
Blogger TXArtcGal said...

Very mysterious, yet telling piece (is this possible? LOL). Beautiful!

10:51 PM  
Blogger Kay Aker said...

wondrous juxtaposition of imagery!

11:07 PM  
Blogger Christine Lim said...

beautifully interpreted. a poignant piece of work. :)

1:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh, what would poor old Oscar think of the world today? (I am betting he wouldn't be a fan of Walmart.)

This is wonderful... I like the black and white cityscape against the vivid sky and moon, and I absolutely love those trees!

8:18 AM  
Blogger Patrick said...

Fantastic work! Great color choices- stunning piece for sure!

11:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

nice work, i loves de tree arms with the birds on the city :)

2:06 PM  
Blogger CRISTOSOVA said...

I remember your piece from a while ago, where urbanity had taken over nature. Here it almost seems the other way round: nature reclaims the city.
Absolutely stunning!

2:49 PM  
Blogger Todd DeWolf said...

I really love the graphic quality of this one. Outstanding. Thank you for your encouraging words too. Cheers!

4:53 PM  
Blogger Kay Aker said...

Compelling juxtaposition of images and words. Love the starkness!

9:48 PM  
Blogger Michael O'Connell said...

carla… thanks for the visit… and your work is fantastic as usual… this week is a bit different for you but oh so nice… and great text with your work as usual…

12:34 AM  
Blogger Dana S. Whitney said...

Creative. Smart. RELIABLY artistic and thought provoking.

4:44 AM  
Blogger Twisselman said...

Cool bold black and white skyline set in contrast to things of nature. Great quote... you always help us expand our thinking... 'feet of clay'... maybe someone should fire up the kiln, so we can strengthen those feet.

9:25 AM  
Blogger franhilz said...

T E R R I F I C !!!

7:22 PM  
Blogger Ian T. said...

Nature defeating civilization? The city awakening to realize that there's more to life? This has a wonderful printlike quality - it'd look great on a t-shirt!

1:52 AM  

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