Flying Dreams

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a Don Bluth Tribute Show at A Little Known Shop!

The show was a blast and I’m so glad I was able to be a part of it. Don Bluth’s films played a major role in my development as an artist. I love The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and The Land Before Time. Mrs. Brisby was the first Halloween costume I can remember asking my mother to make me. I used to go to Universal Studios dressed as Fievel as a small child. I watched all of these films over and over and over again. They were some of the first animated films I ever saw and their influence on my art is obvious. 

The most difficult thing about doing a piece for this show was choosing which film I wanted to illustrate! I ultimately settled on The Secret of NIMH because the visual aesthetic of that film fit best with the type of art I enjoy creating these days. Watching this film so much as a kid was probably a big factor in my love of art filled with rich, painterly environments and shiny, sparkly, glowy elements. 

There’s a song in the movie, Flying Dreams, that Mrs. Brisby sings to her son when he’s sick, and is also played over the credits at the end. I’ve always loved this song and spent a lot of time listening to it while working on this piece. I wanted to capture the warm, optimistic, loving feeling of that song and that moment in the film. I was also inspired by the storybook quality of the illustrations that are shown during the credits. 

This movie, to me, is about hope, determination, imagination, and family and those are the concepts I wanted to express with this piece. It’s such a beautiful film and I hope I was able to do it justice and convey what a special meaning it holds for me as an artist.

Prints: chelseakenna.storenvy.com/coll…
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