“Blue Reverie”, SketchWave Series, No. 76

Following on the coat tails of a sketch wave series of Snow White’s “Happily Ever Neon”, which was created out in my studio in San Francisco at the time, I resumed the series with a piece on Cinderella. This was created about 10 months later, and was worked on simultaneously in Los Angeles, and in my temporary art space at the Ogden in downtown Las Vegas.

Much like like the previous sketchwave piece, this piece, entitled “Blue Reverie” compactly focuses on the entire story of Cinderella into a 14 x 14 piece. “Blue Reverie” was painted with a light blue to reflect Cinderella’s dress (which technically was white, but commonly painted as blue as her dress turned blue from the hue of the moonlight).

You will find Lady Tremaine, Anastacia, Drizella, Lucifer, The Fairy Godmother, and Cinderella herself floating around the background of Mickey’s silhouette. Characteristics of the movie like ’12 O’Clock” at Mickey’s crown, as well as the slipper and the outline of the missing slipper (with the comical exclamation of “Missing Shoe! Oh No!”) are just one of the many pinpoints of the movie which whimsically reside in the architecture of Mickey himself. You will also find quotes and icons that revolve around Cinderella and her story inside, around, and outside of Mickey Mouse. In fact, much like “Happily Ever Neon”, I sought to create a piece that didn’t just focus on one ‘easter egg’ hidden concept, but that the piece was entirely made up of a basket of ‘easter eggs’ around the movie. I wanted this piece to provide the viewer a mass of imagery, so that every time they reviewed the piece, they would see something completely different.

I loved the movie Cinderella in concept as the protagonist was possibly the most human of all princesses, and therefore the most relatable. I say this dually about the villain as well. I was ABSOLUTELY terrified of Lady Tremaine because her villainous nature required no magic to offset my reality. This piece resides as No. 86 in the collection, and is being transferred from the “Disney History” series into the modified “Sketchwave Series”.