My very first addition to the newly renamed EDGARDO DELOS SANTOS Memorial Gallery (in honor of my late father). And I must say, not only was the piece itself a total surprise, but it also comes from a very unexpected source.
For the uneducated (LOL), these are two wonderfully rendered portraits of Sean Young and Harrison Ford from the movie Blade Runner. Any of you who might have taken the time to read my ABOUT ME page would know that Ridley Scott is a film god to me. So right off the bat this piece holds a special significance for me. And in what can only be described as inspired timing, I had just recently purchased the Special Edition re-release of the DVD. How funny is that?
As a bit of history, there’s only one other person in this hobby I’ve known longer than Lance Suarez (and that’s my buddy Mitch Itkowitz). Which begs the question, why the hell didn’t I know he was such a talented artist? If you all want to see what I mean, be sure to stop by Lance’s CAF gallery and check out not only his fabulous collection (his son Jason has an even better one), but also his own drawings, some of which are quite striking.
Anyway, there are so many reasons why this piece has such personal meaning to me. The fact that Ridley Scott is my favorite director. The fact that the piece was drawn by a friend. The fact that it was hand delivered (beautifully framed) by that friend on the one month anniversary of my father’s death. The fact that it’s the inaugural addition to my father’s memorial gallery. And last but not least, it just looks so freaking cool.
So THANKS LANCE! We go back a long way, and it’s nice to know that I can still count on you when I need an emotional pick-me-up! I hope you’ll keep up with your drawing and I look forward to seeing future creations on your gallery. Or in mine! LOL
By the way, apologies to Lance and all of you for this crappy digital photo. Unfortunately, Lance didn’t scan the images before he had them framed, so I had no choice but to try and shoot it through the glass with a camera I didn’t even know how to use! It’s an injustice to the art (and artist) to be sure, but I hope you can get a good enough idea of what it looks like.
(5/9/08) A big thank you to my CAF buddy (and all around nice guy) Gerry Turnbull for cropping and enhancing my original photo to do the art more justice. It's still not as nice as seeing it in person, but it's certainly a major improvement over that sad photo I posted. Thanks Gerry!
