The maniacal Master Diviso strolls through New York in one of his recent creations. This new giant robot suit is designed to thwart all superpowers, he is impervious to defeat. Now, he can finally conquer the world, staring right here. Wait, that leg seems sluggish, needs oil...not oil, it needs a full fluxor kneejoint pin. This isn't possible! He's going down, knee first. Not to worry, he can still transform the whole robot into a tank,....wait, where's the lever? Who is that? A woman stands in the street with a lever in one hand, the pin in the other. She has just dismantled two tiny, but crucial parts of his robot, it is useless now. How is this possible? How is she so fast? Where did she learn how to do this? Tossing aside the parts she looks at a watch on her wrist, "Oh, must not be late for tea with Queen Victoria, I must tell her all about that novel Capote gave me. Toodaloo!" She vanishes just as the support teams from BADGE arrive to arrest him. All he can do is slam his fists into the worthless machinery and scream "NOT FAIR!"
I love this piece of art. I was inspired by my mother, who happens to be a fan of steampunk. For the uninformed, steampunk is an alternate historical genre set in the Victorian age with steam technology being more science fiction than fact. It is a large, and diverse sub-genre with cool outfits and designs, look it up. After painting so many heroes, especially male heroes, I wanted something completely different. Nick had been encouraging me to stretch a little. With some help from my mother, I went all in to design a steam punk figure. Why time travel? This is a super power not a character, the character on the card is merely representing the power. So, what power would this be? I had a few ideas, from engineering to some kind of metal power. Then I remembered the fact that steampunk is based on an alternate history genre, so I decided this person is a time traveler. This influenced the art a bit more, as I gave her hints of H.G. Wells central character in The Time Machine.
About the art. Of course I have already explained that it is steampunk in style, but what does that mean? Well, you will find a large influence of Victorian style of wardrobe. Goggles, chains, gears, and cogs are all elements traditionally found in the steampunk designs. The colors also compliment the metals in the style, with the browns, tans, ecru, and grays.
I wanted it to have the hint of an old style photograph for the color, but still HAVE color in it. Finally, the face, I wanted the face to be obviously female, with a hint of seduction mixed with confidence and allure. Smokey eyes, clean makeup, and a look directly at the viewer. The fact that she is smoking actually was lifted from some old ads I studied from the late 19th century. Also, the light colored smoke draws out the steam part of steampunk. All in all, the whole piece had to wrap around a theme and I think it came together nicely.
Thank you, and remember, the time travelers luncheon has been moved from last Monday to a month ago, mark your calendars.
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