From The Vault - Dark Angel 2001

I did the black and white illustration for this piece back in 2001 for a girl I was seeing at the time. At her request, she wanted herself drawn as both an angel and a devil. Me, being very much into her at the time, just couldn't refuse.

So, I did the piece, gave it to her as a gift, and was then dumped. Well, maybe not so much dumped as much as she disappeared from my life one night and I never saw her again. I think the lesson I learned is that, when a girl is moving, and she DOESN'T ask for your help in packing up her stuff and moving it from place to place, she doesn't really want you to know where she's going.

So, with her went the original but I still had a photocopy of the black and white piece. I took that copy, scanned it into the computer, and started playing around with the color. Previous to this piece I'd maybe done a few color tests in Photoshop and maybe one complete colored piece. But, even that first piece was very airbrushy and had me trying to match the effects of my physical paintings at the time. But, this was the first time that I tried doing an animated cut color technique.

And, I have to say, it worked out so well that I still use this style of color on the majority of my art to this day. It may be a bit more refined and thought out now but it all started with this piece.

So, even though the relationship went down in flames I do have to say that this girl was an artistic inspiration and I'm always glad she was a part of my life, even if just for a short time.

So, thank you Daniella, wherever you may be.