1/11/10

jailbird


As days turned to weeks, weeks into months, and months into years, Carl eventually realized he would probably spend the rest of his life behind bars...

I have at least a half dozen other things I should be working on, but the Illustration Friday word "confined" inspired me to do this instead.

54 comments:

Unknown said...

hah love the character in his face and the somber colour scheme. Nice use of the topic "confined".

Curious Art said...

"I know why the caged bird plays the blues harp"

Great piece... love the droopy eyes & feet & the hatch marks on the cage, & beautiful textures too.

Unknown said...

love the mood you nailed with this one! Wow

Love how you push the ideas. Completely envious

Unknown said...

haha! love those eyes...
Great job!

Andrew Finnie said...

poignant sad and funny, great background

Jason Curtis said...

Poor Carl. I can almost hear the soulful sounds of his harmonica. I wish I could set him free.

I love the little scratches on the bottom of his cage indicating the time he's been behind bars.

Wonderful, wonderful piece here Michael. I'm loving the colors and the rough border...and of course, the bird is so well done (look at that expression, it's breaking my heart).

Valerie Drake Lesiak said...

I think I hear the jail house blues on this one. Was this inspired due to cubical confinement? Love your illustration!

Doodlestreet said...

jailbird...i can dig it! ;o)

Johana Mazuera said...

Great job
The character is very expressive and the combination of the colors makes the poor character look more sad.

Chelsea Kirchoff said...

Michael! This is positively FABULOUS! It's very inspiring. This is GREAT! AWESOME WORK!

TJ Lubrano said...

Aaw poor Carl...singing the blues.

I really like this one ^_^!

Ian Summers said...

Thanks for the conment. You've got some great work. I'm really liking the textures.

Karen said...

Wonderful piece!

Abz said...

what a sad litte guy..very nicely done. I can sense the mood ad amost smell the stuffiness... brilliant!

salli s. swindell said...

this was very worth pushing other work aside for! love the shadow from the cage and textures on the bird. but yea...I'm feeling sad for carl. i gotta go get to my "confined" illo...

R.Dress said...

This came out so good. I'm really feeling it.

k.h.whitaker said...

I like this, very nice

Roberta said...

Carl the canary needs to make a break for it next time the paper gets changed!! Love it!

Anonymous said...

I seriously chuckled when I first saw this and gets funnier the more I look at it. So awesome, although a little sad. I secretly think this what our bird at home feels like. We put on music for him during the day but he must be bored to tears in that cage. Another incredible illo.

Manola C. said...

Ciao Michael! A new beautiful illustration! Wonderful! :) Hugs

pakoto said...

hahaha i really love this illustration!!!! congratulations michael!

Eric Barclay said...

Outstanding work. The harmonica is a really nice touch.

Glen Barbosa de Carvalho Batoca said...

Very very nice!Your work is wonderfull!!!Tanks for your visit and comment!
*I sent an email to mrobo57@gmail.com with some curiosities about the samba.

Wayne B. Medina said...

niiiiiice michael! captured the mood wonderfully! awesome piece as always my friend

Vhrsti said...

Cool character, cool idea, cool colors. Simply - cool!

Angela Matteson said...

The harmonica and his tick marks checking off the days makes this absolutely brilliant! Also, it expresses my views of birds in cages. It's the biggest tragedy to have wings, but not be allowed to fly!

Shirley said...

I love his deeply set, worn out eyes (expression). It's perfectly presented..sad but not desperate. Poor Carl..though I'm glad he's got his harmonica. I agree..those tick marks are perfect. A super illustration, Michael!!! And your preivous illustration (Elza) is rockin' - such swagger in that pose! : ) Take care and glad to hear you're busy with work...that's great!

Sally Taylor said...

Hah! I love the harmonica and the muted color scheme. Perfect illo!

Unknown said...

Oooh pooor thing!! Love the design and the texture!

donny* said...

oh yeah! this rocks, man! love love love the texture and colors in the background ... and the marks on the cage. and, oh yeah, the bird is great, too!

Francisco Martins said...

Hi Michael,
h this is beautiful man. I've been feeling a little blue myself - it' probably the bad weather - and i can really relate to moode in this piece! LOVE IT! :)

Colin Jack said...

hilarious!

justdoodleit said...

Feel sorry for Carl. Hope he'll come up with some soulful blues tunes with that harmonica.

Justin Rodrigues said...

This made me chuckle. great stuff.

to said...

hahahaha! i love your art ;)

Vanessa Brantley Newton said...

he he he he heh he he he!!! I know why the Jail bird sings!! he he he! I'm so sorry. That was just wrong. This little guy is sooooo awesome and I just love the background. Totally awesome! Elza Soares is HOT!!!! I really love that piece! You are on a roll!

MrBibleHead said...

Well Michael, now you've done it. Your illustration has moved up to number one favorite! Great work. I love everything about this. The little subtleties are great like the harmonica and counting the days. Fantastic! Great mood too with the color selection! Yep, this is my fave of the week! Hey thanks for stopping by!

Hello! said...

I completly agree with the previous comment. This is perfect in every way. Visiting your blog is always a real treat, fabulous work!

abhishek singh said...

you push your design sensibilities in each and every piece, it's beautiful:)
i can hear the sad tune in it, wonderful

ginger bred said...

Hi Michael! Thanks for stopping by my blog and taking time out to leave a lovely comment! I absolutley adore you're work!! You're illustration style is extremely fab!! can't wait to see more! :)

Bubu said...

I love love love your blog‘s name

Tomás Serrano said...

Excellent!!! This is one of my favorites ever. All is perfect: the back ground with the letters, the bird and the fabulous jail.

Ana Cobos said...

hahaha i love this illustration!!
Simply - cool! :D

Cauê Zunchini said...

VERY VERY VERY GOOD !!!

get zapped said...

Great take on the theme. Love the textures, color and especially the bored expression.

Anonymous said...

ha ha, poor bird, great illo!

Carmen Saldaña said...

Very nice and ver sad, poor Carl. Sometimes it´s better not to realize of nothing.
I like your style, very good work

:-)

Z-Kids said...

Poor little guy

Unknown said...

wow! fantastic work. I love the stle and graphic shapes. Very appealing and effective.

Cheers!

Jmontiel said...

I love the sad expression of prisoner of bird. Greta work!

Kyri Kyprianou said...

Very cool! Nice work on the Elza Soares image too, very stylish.

Roger Simó said...

It's so sad... That means it's a good work, of course!

Gavin Goo said...

Brilliant idea! My dad should see this. He has one hanging by the kitchen. :(

Another great piece Michael!

Carolina Búzio said...

You have a gorgeous style, and definitely an eye for composition and colors.
I really liked your blog, I'm sure I'll be dropping by more often!