After more than a decade of continuous illustration work, this was my first non-commissioned painting. Who can resist imagining a peaceful world where children are enjoying nature and the symbols of war are falling into ruin?
The initial idea came out of a commission for a Samuel R. Delany anthology back in 1980. I was told I could have all the freedom I wanted. What I initially came up with were several concepts inspired by my meditations on the title Distant Stars. They were all rather metaphysical in feeling and the clients were unimpressed.
When I finished the painting years later, it worked for me as a "window into another world," but that was in the confines of my studio. When I displayed it at a show shortly thereafter, I was surprised to note how the painting was lost among a number of larger works.
After the show, I cleared a large area of wall space in order to determine an optimum size for future work. I stood away from the wall at about the same distance I usually put myself when viewing art in a good setting. Taking a long stick with a piece of charcoal on the end, I marked a square on the wall. That for me was the minimum-size painting I would work on henceforth...four feet on a side.
Additional images from SENTINELS
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I love Sentinels. It spoke to me. The fluffy clouds in the blue sky. The sea/beach scalloping into the distance. The implied breeze. The cliffs. And the Sentinels and children of course. I have a 33x22 ish Limited Edition number 366/950 by my front door.
This is probably my favorite piece of art by Michael. It hangs in the den, it is #279/950. Probably the first time I spent more on the frame than the print, but it deserved it.