To highlight the newest season of Mountain Men and support the show's mission of celebrating traditional ways of living, we were tasked with creating real portraits of the cast for key art while capturing the painting process along the way. We also directed digital paintings for the broadcast promo, tailoring that element to better fit the creative vision while showcasing the range of media an artist can work in.
Working with fine artists meant completely rethinking our process, from sketches to final touches. We also had to figure out how to capture a month-long painting process across multiple artists' studios scattered around the country. As the main point person for the artists, director, DP, and client, I had a lot of balls in the air which pushed me into an extreme practice of organization, clear communication, anticipating next steps, and following up at every stage.
One of the most rewarding parts of this project was the chance to propose and work with an indigenous, female fine artist. Much of the show's subject matter and the inspiration behind this creative drew from traditional indigenous ways of life and iconography, so being able to spotlight work from a member of that community was a genuinely special part of the process.
