YORI LIVES ART - PETER BREESE

This week I got a chance to ask Peter Breese about his Yori art. Peter Breese's art can be seen to your left with Cindy Morgan. His beautiful fine art style couldn't be more perfect for Yori/Cindy Morgan.

You have done several works of Tron art, two of them are of Cindy Morgan, Yori. What inspired you to explore these images?

"Yes, actually I've released two initial sketches of Yori and one final, the other final piece is based on Quorra (Olivia Wilde) from TRON: Legacy. It was during the creation and evolution of the TRON 2010 piece that got me reflecting on my memories of the original TRON film. In fact, a few days after inking that piece I started sketching out a Yori portrait. So I was actually working backwards from TRON: Legacy to TRON."

Your art is truly iconic, and 'vintage' looking, how would you describe the style of your art?

"Thanks man. I work almost entirely in brushed ink and gouache - I also do some digital work for books, etc.... Occasionally I

meddle in watercolors, but still prefer the solid finish of gouache. As for my particular style - it's just me. Frankly, I'm not entirely sure where my style fits in - some sort of graphic post pop deal I guess... I've never really thought too much about it."

"I'm super honored to have my art at Gallery Nucleus in California, South Pointe Gallery in Key West FL, and available for purchase at Storyopolis Entertainment in Dallas, TX. My work has appeared in a variety of publications, but the best places to find it right now is in a few books that will be released over the next few months: They Draw and Cook, The New Devil's Dictionary, and Spectrum 18."

You have made your way to the conventions, and you have met Cindy Morgan, how did you come to ending up at the conventions, and what was it like meeting Cindy Morgan?

"I'm a comic geek - nuff said. I was originally there to catch up with some of the artists I've loved since I was a kid, but when I saw Cindy I made a bee line to introduce myself. Cindy is very cool and on her game. After a little chat I told her I'd try to bring in the original TRON 1982 on day two. I don't think she knew just how huge the final painting was, so it was very cool to see her reaction to it. I rarely have the pleasure of seeing people's responses to my originals, so that was an especially awesome opportunity. Cheers for that, Cindy."

Are you a fan of Tron, science fiction? What are your thoughts on the movie, and do you have any favorite kind of science fiction?

"Absolutely. TRON blew my mind when I first saw it - I think it did that to a lot of folks. It wasn't so much about the graphics for me, but more the concept of life within a computer - brilliant! Sci-fi has always had a special place for me - I'm not picky about the flavor."

Your art is particularly reminiscent to me of vintage fashion design, like

covers of Vogue magazine from the 30's, how did you come to approach this style, and add a modern touch? What inspired you in this direction?

"Thanks, I'm honored. I've no formal training and up until a few years ago I was an epidemiologist. Informally, I've been drawing since I was old enough to hold a brush or crayon, whichever was first. My grandma would draw endlessly with me - she's still amazing - and I've never stopped. In fact, I got into some trouble in law school for drawing in the margins of my Tort case book - my prof took preference to a severed foot I was working on at the time, but in my defense it was entirely relevant to the case we were discussing."

"As for my style, well, I'm a child of the 80s and I think that "feel" is fairly palpable in my work. I also a line freak and a bit of a minimalist, so I love the power of a well placed brush stroke - each piece has to be a love affair or I'm simply not trying hard enough. I'm always working to improve and I've plenty of room for that."

"No doubt tons of artists influence me in some way and I owe them all a debt of gratitude. I'm not an island and I appreciate the inspiration. That said, I do work very hard to keep my style personal and evolving. I don't want to do another artist any disservice by imitating their style."

How do you feel about art influencing people? Do you ever use a computer, or software, how do you feel about 'computer generated art?'

"Art influences us all. Ever see a movie? Boom, you were influenced by art. Like that music? Boom, art again. I have an overly broad view of art, because I think everyone is an artist in their own way. Illustrators, a group I'm super honored to be a part of, work in a variety of mediums which are often divided into digital and traditional and I try very hard to be retain skill in both. Traditional is certainly beautiful to touch and see with the naked eye, but we live in the age of computers and I've been knocked on my butt by tons of insanely beautiful digital illustrations. I understand that folks have strong opinions about this and tend to hold one up above the other, but they both seem equally cool to me. Heck, I've had clients who have requested both and I'm happy to provide. In fact, I often include digital at some stage of a pieces development - to check colors or finalize lines - so that I don't get rusty."

What are your thoughts on the art design of TRON, being an artist yourself, it occurred to me after seeing one of your sketches of Yori, that her costume almost has a bit of 1920s look to it, with the circuitry designs, could have been some sort of vintage quasi-futuristic fashion look.

"The art of TRON is unreal. I have always been drawn to the power of simplicity and the designers of TRON really captured this. I don't think it would have been nearly as successful if the palette wasn't so limited. As for the styling of the outfits, it's like Mad Max meets Cirque de Soleil - who knows? Good stuff."

Peter Breese's art can be seen at www.peterbreese.com

He can be found on Facebook ... www.facebook.com/peter.breese