http://www.drawger.com/hewgill/ Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:35:29 EST FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://drawger.com/_images/drawger_leo_logo.gif http://www.drawger.com/hewgill http://www.drawger.com/hewgill/index.php?section=articles&article_id=13061

On the heels of this week's Oscar nominations, I thought this would be a fitting time to post my illustration for the review of this film in Entertainment Weekly's "Best and Worst of 2011" issue.  "The Tree of Life " by Terrence Malick  was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and best Cinematography, and was winner of the Palme D'or at the Cannes Film festival. The Tree of Life is a visual and ethereal poem about loss, despair, God and the search for faith and reconciliation. (quote from a review: www.theendofthepage.com) I tried to narrow my focus on the central aspect of the film, the O'Brien family dynamic: the eldest child Jack caught between the polarizing personalities of his parents and his (metaphorical) struggle of choosing between the way of nature and the way of grace.  The primary importance for me was trying to create a composition that reflected  the mood and tension of the family dynamic, and focus on the portraits later. My composition focuses on the tension between Jack and his overbearing father, played by Brad Pitt, juxtaposed by the ethereal mother played by Jessica Chastain. It's interesting how much a hairstyle can alter the way we perceive a person. I was amazed how that haircut helped visually transformed Brad Pitt into the strict, abusive, authoritarian father. The nebula in the sky represents the cosmic beginning section of the film, where Malick wants us to be awestruck by the wonder of the world as though seen through the eyes of a child.  





When I watched the film I was spellbound by the cinematography ( Emmanuel Lubezki) and the art direction. Almost the entire film is painted with a green/ turquoise palette.  When I begin painting, I'll most often have a set colour palette in mind, but sometimes I can't decide on a direction, in which case I'll do a few colour studies with colour pencil. I began this one with the gold background (because of the frequent setting sun in the film). Midway through I decided this wasn't working so I repainted the entire background ( underpainting and all) in the green tones. I'm glad I made the colour change because I think the greens reflect a more 1950's feel. Art director Jennie Chang also let me know in advance the selected colours for design for the spread (the cayenne square on the right in my studies) , so I kept this in mind when working on my palette.  



Another inspiration was Lubezki's use of natural light that frequently picked up the rays cast by the setting sun. My technique seems to have become unconsciously tighter over the last few years. I try to find a balance between the rougher textured areas, juxtaposed with detail done with tighter brush work. Sometimes I really loose myself in a piece and it's a struggle to pull myself back,  not to overwork it and let the paint and colour breath some life into the piece.  











Thanks to Jennie Chang for the great assignment.

]]> Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:35:29 EST http://www.drawger.com/hewgill/index.php?section=articles&article_id=12987

I am honoured to have two of my paintings selected for the uncommissioned category, the gala opening January 6 (tonight) at The Society of Illustrators (along with sequential and moving image categories). The exhibit is up until Jan 21st. One of the two pieces included, "Mourning Cloak" was created this summer while working up at the cottage. The painting is based on the ephemeral nature of life.



The piece turned out differently than what I had initially intended. As opposed to illustration work , where I labour over  carefully crafted compositions in the sketch phase,  I started this piece with a very brief sketch and let the painting lead me.



My inspirations were from some of the flowers I had planted and the moths on the back porch.  



The back door at our cottage is a moth magnet. The largest was approx 6" in wing span ( the size of a small bird ), it was dark and sort of looked like a bat, and it held dominance over those back steps. It totally freaked me out. All the photos here are courtesy of Balvis Rubess ( hey, I wasn't going to be closer than 5 feet from that huge one ) The moth in this painting is called "Mourning Cloak".  







I also believe in the "reuse, revisit, revise"  rule. I have noticed a thorny theme in my recent work, unfortunately, I can't offer a good explanation, and thorns aren't an issue at the cottage.







A big thanks to the Society of Illustrators, the chair Yuko Shimizu, and the 54th annual exhibition jury !

]]> Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:06:38 EST http://www.drawger.com/hewgill/index.php?section=articles&article_id=12938

Scrooge vs Aliens : a Christmas Carol Mash-up written by Ben Winters (author of two mash-up novels) for the cover and inside full page of USA Weekend magazine.







I preferred the rough above, metaphorically it represents the two writing genre's face to face ( the mash-up of science fiction with the Dickens classic ), but it also depicts Scrooge as a real tough grumpy old man even when face to face with with this alien. Design director Leon Lawrence III preferred that we just show a hint of the alien on the cover. I tried to keep it very simple to allow room for type.



I thought it would be a good segway if the inside illustration depicted the scene in this story where the carollers protect Scrooge by creating a circle around him. They continue singing even as some are eaten whole by the alien.  The story ends with Scrooge shooting the alien. This also would have been fun to illustrate.  It's not often that I get to illustrate an alien, so thanks to Leon for this fun assignment.





]]> Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:47:47 EST http://www.drawger.com/hewgill/index.php?section=articles&article_id=12817




In the story, the welder has to burn and cut a beam, so they can lift it offf the pile. When they lift up the beam, they discovered part of the helmet with the number melted on to the beam, the only remain found for this one fireman.



This sketch better reflected a moment of prayer upon the discovery of their fallen collegue. Pamela and the editor thought I should somehow include the narrator, so in the final, I turned the fireman on the far upper left into the welder, and I switched the  shovel for a welding hose.





Pamela's beautifully designed spread nicely echos the focal point of the illustration:  A  flashlight emanating from the open hole left when the beams were removed.

]]> Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:07:49 EST http://www.drawger.com/hewgill/index.php?section=articles&article_id=12456


 Typically my assignments consist of portraits, theatre posters and editorial topics with a more serious or emotional tone, but every now and then I get to do a humorous piece. I was thrilled when Tim J Luddy of Mother Jones magazine asked me to illustrate this article and to apply the humorous tone that he had seen in some of my  pieces. I also really appreciate when an art director allows me the freedom to stretch myself artistically. I think it's is far more difficult to execute humor than anything else. There are several illustrators here on Drawger who have mastered this very well. " Loaded Gun : Cover your Assets "  is an article about the executive protection business in LA. There isn't a reference to dog doody duties in the article, but it does examine some of the absurdly tedious and mundane circumstances for which ceo's are using bodyguards. I chose to tap into a Charlie's Angels psyche and simplify the details of the bodyguards to contrast against the cherub-faced effete little ceo.







In my last blog I wrote : draw what you know. Now that we have Betty, the 66 lb golden-doodle, I have probably picked up more than her weight in dog poop, although I prefer to use a bag !  



This is my first illustration for Mother Jones. Thank you Tim for this really fun assignment and thank you MoJo for printing it !  

]]> Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:14:26 EST http://www.drawger.com/hewgill/index.php?section=articles&article_id=12429




Full page , part of inside spread (above ).   When I think of Alaska, I envision the splendour and vastness of the outdoors. I've never been to Alaska, but I have been on snowy peaks like this in Colorado and British Columbia. And I have climbed rock. Some photos of me rock climbing in Milton Ontario 20 years ago. Ascending and then repelling down. Not very graceful, but this was my first attempt at climbing.  



The five birds that fly around Jeff Scott represent the five important and big name external CIO's who fly into Alaska for meetings with him. I love watching birds of prey soar. This is as close to a Falcon as I've ever been. This photo was taken at a Raptor centre when I was mountain biking through  Vermont.  



Another portrait for SooJin , for the May/June2010 issue. Portrait of Antoine De Salins, CEO of France's Pension Fund. I know the Fleur de Lis well ( drawn into the seedling in his hand ) as I'm from Montréal.



A  tip of the hat to SooJin for being such a strong supporter of illustration. Click here to view a video of a behind the scenes look into the magazine.  

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