Fantasy v. Reality

A woman dressed in medieval armor sits at a modern office desk with her head resting on her hand, embodying a clash of fantasy v. reality. A sword leans against the desk beside her while a computer monitor, keyboard, and mug adorn the surface. Ceiling lights illuminate the surreal scene.

One of the types of art I’ve enjoyed creating is the juxtaposition of adrenaline charged high fantasy, with the cold mundane-ness of reality. I’ve done a few creations to this end. Let’s explore:

The first is, “A Warrior Walks into a Bar.” I created this from multiple angles, because there is a lot more going on than just another portrait.

I did a second take to focus more on the server and her reaction to the impossibility of someone bringing their horse into the bar – which has been done in cinema.

Another cool thing about alternate angles is that it can showcase other players in the scene and what they are really doing, for example, the bartender saying to the Warrior that horses are definitely not allowed in the bar.

Finally, there’s the boredom that any gamer feels when having to ‘adult.’ In this case, our hero can’t wait to get out and slay the dragon, but she has to do the TPS report first.

The Princess

A person with flowing red fabric behind them poses dramatically over a table with a candle in a holder. The person has wavy grayish hair and a fierce expression. The background is neutral, emphasizing the dynamic fabric and candle.

The muse of painting has deserted me. I’m not sure when she’ll be back. No worries, her sister the muse of digital artistry is alive and well!

I’ve been doing digital work for about a month, and have already become quite prolific. All of my work is available on my Instagram feed @robmedleyart. I’ll be posting those creations here over the next few days.

My latest work is entitled “The Princess.” It’s about incorporating and celebrating women of color into classic fairy-tales, which seem to be boringly cast full of white characters. There’s so much diversity in the world that I find it tragic our folklore doesn’t follow suit.

Anyway, there are two versions of the Princess. The first one I thought was super beautiful, but in discussing her with my friends, found that I was buying into tropes that were tired and dated.

So, I went back to the virtual drawing board. I’m much more pleased with the results of version two.

Both are beautiful, but I feel there is more going on in the latter and the scene feels more alive.