Student Artist: Jamie Petkosek
Software Used: Adobe Illstrator
Going with the Art Deco era’s prevalent theme of machines, I chose to depict a train. I used a color scheme of black, brown, and blue to mimic the Industrial Age. The dark browns and blacks communicate the hard machinery, while the soft blues and ivories lighten the overall feel of the piece and inject some optimism into what otherwise would be a cold design. I added the streak of red on the train to unify and suggest movement. The large brown shape at the bottom complements the train with its angle and balances out the design. I drew the train on the front from a low angle to make it look more powerful and to mimic the exaggerated angles often used in early Art Deco pieces. The black gradients on the train helped create the look of steel and suggest movement, as if the train is zooming by. I added the curvy shape of the smoke cloud to introduce some contrast against the straight lines of the train and to add some interest to the sky by breaking up the plane of open space.