Government Failure

I'm always glad to hear from Vanessa when she is looking for artwork to accompany their back-page commentary. The subject of this particular assignment was how government tries to "help out" with education reform, but then usually ends up leaving things undone as they become distracted with other political matters. The commentary was an objective, informative read, but I must say my ideas are a bit..um...subjective. Then again, those are usually my best pieces: the ones that share the artist's viewpoint on the subject. I hope to take more future assignments in this direction.

Below are sketches. It seems I was channeling Magritte a bit in those top two?

-Ghost coach (present but lacking action)

-Limp flag (performance issues :) Perhaps too "adult" for the subject matter

-Incomplete bus (implementation without completion)

-"Bully pulpit," a quote from the article (forceful action, but without focus)

So I was sort of bummed that the bull wasn't selected, but I know it was a stretch. And I was still happy to take the selected bus sketch to final:

I was really happy with how this image turned out. I shortened it a bit to better fit the article's image format, and I adjusted the curb to better invite the viewer into the image. I played a bit with the back end of the bus sitting on the ground, but I prefer the more whimsical visual of it floating. Thanks for a fun commission, Vanessa!

And thank you for reading!

Enjoy the Day,
Chris