"Sailing
the Seven Skies" is a panoramic 3D rendering of a seascape
in the Future That Never Was - where five adventurous rocket pilots
have set out for who-knows-where, and are well on their way there
as they come upon a rocky island and its mysterious, art deco complex
- served by the ever-reliable monorail of the Retropolis Transit
Authority. We must not quite have left civilization yet, if that's
still possible.
The
rockets, as always, are my favorite open cockpit retro rocket roadsters
- a mixture of some of my older ones and a couple that I've just
modelled recently.
The
buildings are also a mixture of old and new; I nearly regret not
using a maritime version of Potsdam's Einstein Tower - and I'm sure
I'll do that one, one day - but the dome seemed to be much more
what the island needed. You've got to pay attention to what these
things are telling you as you work on them. The island grew out
of some landscape modelling experiments I was doing last year, which
continue to bear fruit. Neat stuff.
The
title is a phrase from "Wings Over the Navy" (1938), by
Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer. The version I listen to is Lew Stone's
British recording from the early days of WWII - and I think the
British version's lyrics were retooled by Charles Dunn. But what
may be the best line is common to both versions: "We're high-sky
riding aeronautical guys." I mean, beat that.
The
print is an on-demand, open edition reproduction of my digital painting.
Its resolution is 300 DPI at a full size of 30 by 15 inches. There's
a narrow border on the sides all around the image area. You can
frame the print as is or matte it, if you like, to a different (standard)
shape.
copyright
Bradley W. Schenck 2006
