‘Odo’ ~ DS9 - Paying My Respects by Creating Art
‘Odo’ ~ A Blind Contour Drawing by BDMiller
In Memory of René Auberjonois
Inspiration Photo next to Finish Piece called ‘Odo’
René Auberjonois Lost His Battle With Lung Cancer ..
On Sunday December 8th, 2019. I knew him best from his role of Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. As I am sure many of you know and appreciate, he was a very talented person. He will surely be missed. In the moment I felt compelled to take a break from what it was I was doing, and pay my respects to him. I chose to do this through my artistic creativity. I felt it was time for another Blind Contour installment, and what perfect subject matter. I always struggle for subjects for my blind contours, so this was just perfect. I set out to draw Odo, first finding a picture of him that reminded me best of his personality and temperament. It wasn’t that hard to find what I was looking for. After I printed a small reference picture (see below), I set it up next to my art pad and immediately got to work.
My Inspiration photo is on the left
Photo Source for the two photos above
The Subject and Inspiration for This Drawing ..
Odo from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
The original Writer's Bible from 1992 for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine described Odo as follows:
Odo, an alien male, middle-aged curmudgeon, and a shape-shifter. In his natural state he is a gelatinous liquid. He was a Bajoran law enforcement officer on the space station under the Cardassians. Starfleet decides to have him continue in that role, since he's extremely savvy about the Promenade and all who frequent it. His backstory is: 50 years ago, with no memory of his past, he was found alone in a mysterious spacecraft that appeared in the Denarias asteroid belt. He was found by the Bajoran and lived amongst them. At first he was sort of an Elephant Man, a source of curiosity and humor as he turned himself into a chair or pencil. Finally he realized he would have to take the form of a humanoid to assimilate and function in their environment. He does it, but resents it. As a result, Odo performs a uniquely important role in the ensemble: he is a character who explores and comments on Human values. Because he is forced to pass as one of us, his point of view usually comes with a cynical and critical edge. But he can't quite get it right, this humanoid shape, though he continues to try. So he looks a little unfinished in a way. He's been working on it a long time. Someone might ask him: Why don't you take the form of a younger man. His answer: I would if I could. He has the adopted child syndrome, searching for his own personal identity. Although he doesn't know anything about his species, he is certain that justice is an integral part of their being, because the necessity for it runs through every fiber of his body – a racial memory. That's why he became a law man. He has a couple of Bajoran deputies; he doesn't allow weapons on the Promenade, and once every day he must return to his gelatinous form.
Source
After Focusing In On My Subject ..
Gathering a photo to work from, placing my pad in front of me, picking up my pen, and choosing a starting point, I was quite well on my way. In about 2 or 3 minutes I was finished with the blind contour drawing. If you do not know, a blind contour drawing is made with one continuous line. It is also drawn without ever looking at the subject during the actual drawing of the contour line. That’s what makes them so much fun; blindly drawing something and being surprised with the grotesque results. I am super pleased with today's drawing. Not only does it resemble Odo, but also adds a quirky side to the reflection of his, otherwise, overall serious mood.
I started the line at his left ear and ended up finishing at/near his insignia.
After The Drawing Was Completed ..
I would move on to shading. Sometimes I leave the work unshaded, but for todays piece I chose to apply some tonal values. I think this was a wise choice. The only thing(s) that I wish I had at my disposal, would be my set of different lead valued pencils. For some reason I could not locate them. However, I made due with what I do have.. A #2 Pencil and an erasure for working out my mistakes.
Over The Next Several Frames ..
You will notice that I slowly add pencil to the drawing. I added it to areas where I believe it would have the largest visual effect. Shading has a way of making the lines pop. One may even say it gives the drawing a certain blockiness or what I call a stained glass look. This is one of my favorite parts, if done well. I don’t always do it well, but with pencil it is easy to erase and try again. I did just that with this piece, utilizing that eraser a few times.
Here we go.. Let's slowly layer in some pencil!
As one can see, the shadowing is getting progressively darker..
Just About Done. All I need to do is add my signature.
And There We Have It!
‘Odo’, a blind contour drawing, is complete :-) I had a good time creating this piece and paying my respects to a beloved Star Trek character who will most definitely be missed.
Rene Auberjonois, may you Rest In Peace.
René Auberjonois ~ 6/1/1940 - 12/8/2019
Source
A Little Fact That Caught My Interest ..
Was that artistic talent runs in Rene’s family. His grandfather, also named René Auberjonois, was a Swiss post impressionist painter/artist. I was not aware of this until I happened across it in an article written about his recent death. It made mention to his grandfather by the same name, and his ties to the artistic world. I took the chance to look over a few of his pieces, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.
Here is a sample just in case you were interested …
Here Is A Snapshot of The Entire Process ..
If You Liked This One ..
Maybe you would be interested in checking out my other blind contour drawings, I have blogged about in the past. Here are my previous blind contour installments ..
Expression of Cabernet
Nadi
Blind Folded Rolls
Chuck
Six Bottles Of Beer
Pepperdoodle
Smoking Lady
The Man In The Shadows
Dobby The House Elf
My Blue Guitar
Blind Wine
Thank You!
Thanks Again for Your Support and Generosity!
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If Your Interested In Purchasing Any Of My Work:
They can be found for sale in
OR
My Etsy Store
If you don't see the piece in either shop, It may still be drying. Let me know and I can upload it as soon as possible to be available. Or you can always make me an offer (in SBD or STEEM) in the comments section of this post. If we agree on a price, I will then ship the painting to you. (shipping costs will be determined by your location).
Thank you for swinging by my blog and checking out the post. Have a great day!
All words, pictures and art pieces are the sole property of B D Miller Gallery, unless otherwise noted and credited, and are not to be reproduced or copied without the prior written consent of B D Miller Gallery.
About Me ~ The Artist
My art work incorporates a wide variety of subject matter, including landscape, seascape, cityscape, and still life images. My works are the product of a continuing process of exploration through which I seek to portray personal and visionary interpretations of my surroundings. My paintings are impressions of places and events from everyday life, an interpretation of my imagination, and personal responses to what I see and feel on a daily basis. More recently I have invested generous amounts of time into my landscape painting. I am surrounded by natural and man made beauty, which inherently presents itself in the tri-state area, and almost demands that I paint it.
Not everything is art. Art is not everything, but it comes close. Art is everywhere and all the time. Art makes you experience the beauty of the world, the people in it, and the places we call home. Art itself is so influential that it can tell stories, show feelings, and express passion or fury. Art exists in addition to language; expression of sensations and thoughts, revealing a way of thinking too subtle and delicate for words.
For me art requires love, honesty and perseverance. In return, it reveals some personal, non-analyzable, and creative untamed passion. For the public, art with its magnificent beauty, improves mood and health and builds better human beings and communities. It engages the intellect, softens the heart, strengthens the soul and frees the spirit.
~ B D Miller
Amazing what one line can look like!
Just awesome.
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 0/20 - need recharge?)
Isn’t it?! It always surprises me in the end. Thanks for the support and the nomination for tipu curation. I am grateful for that. 😊
This is very creepy cool, I love it!
“Creepy Cool” is a good choice of descriptive words. My go to words are usually “artistically grotesque”. Yours sound better. 🙂 thanks for reading my post and the nice comment!
Haha I'm quite a fan of the grotesque so that works too :)
Love it! :-)
I must say you did brilliantly with the blind contour art. I never know about it until derangedvisions mention about it.
Posted using Partiko Android
Thanks for letting me know about @derangedvisions post. Didn’t realize he did that. Also yes, blind contour drawing can be either enjoyable or frustrating. I tend to find it enjoyable. Glad you liked it and you learned of something new. That’s a big bonus for me. 😁
Have a witness !BEER
Thanks 😊!!
Thank you!! 😁
Frame it, put it up for auction at a Star Trek convention. I love the step-by-step and the combination picture at the end. Well done pal!
Good Idea! I guess I should get to work on more of that kind of thing, otherwise I'll be the guy with one thing at his booth. :-/
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