“Rocket Launch” Humoristic Ink Drawing by Christopher Mark Brennan

For regulars of our online gallery, you won’t be surprised to see another work by Brennan, Californian artist, very secretive about himself, whose prolific and intensely surprising work we follow again and again.

Today’s featured work is a watercolour and black-and-white ink piece entitled “Rocket Launch,” which has a landscape layout that ingeniously facilitates storytelling – A highly humorist piece -. signed and dated 2021.

The quality of the drawing, the simplified lines, and the extremely elaborate organisation of the elements deliver a reading from left to right and from right to left of a rocket that seems to have taken off. On the left, the main character is a cosmonaut who ultimately did not participate in the “intergalactic trip.” His mouth is represented by a simple hyphen, two wide-open eyes like marbles, and the hilarious double presence of a horseshoe that will not be enough to protect him from his fears and give him enough confidence to board the rocket.

It’s astounding with what economy of details Brennan brings to life the cosmonaut’s dilemma: “Should I board the rocket or stay on solid ground?” By creating a back-and-forth effect from left to right, Brennan brings the “I’m going, I’m not going” dilemma of the cosmonaut to humorous life, with his helmet glued to his knees.

Brennan pays an amazing tribute to all the great illustrators who have been contributors to major magazines, such as Art Spiegelman for the New Yorker, demonstrating his astonishing ability to activate a whole tragicomic aspect in a single image.

Christopher Mark Brennan was born in 1950. He attended Washington University School of Fine Arts in St. Louis, Missouri in 1974. After 1983, he made covers for magazines and artworks for Universal Studios, three cover Art for Frank Zappa CD, and other musicians.
His work was more like photo-realism in large format.
He now lives in Santa Barbara and makes smaller but striking paintings. His imagination doesn’t seem to have any limit!
He lives a private life, not sharing much online besides his art, allowing us to see his artwork with a fresh and unbiased lens.