Playtime: Vol. I

The evolution of the first layer for Playtime.  It all started with a scrap of cardboard that reminded me of a tank turret.  I'm of the age that the Atari 2600 was about as big of a deal as one American child of the early 1980s could grapple with without losing his mind entirely.  Our Atari 2600 came with the game COMBAT!.  Tanks, planes, shooting, pixels, minimal sound effects -so good.

Anyway, with the memories of COMBAT! inspiring me, I made a tank body for the turret and some simple opponents/antagonists to adhere to the canvas. 

I have the desire for the final piece to return to this kind of minimal arrangement (in keeping with the simple 8-bit nature of the Atari games?).  But to get to simple (or at least simplified) I need to make things a bit more complex first.  I gotta give before I can take away...

So here is the first layer of imagery.

Taking a quick break so things can dry.  That way I don't drag my hand through wet paint.

A few weeks later, I am ready to dive back into the piece.

I'm excited to return to this piece in a week or two and start adding colors.  As you can already tell though, the tank and its opponents nearly disappear in the tumult.

Next time we check in with Playtime, there will be color!