Classic Film series: Gone With The Wind

An epic film deserves a dramatic design. I love this shot so I turned it into the latest in the series.

Filed under: 1930s, Academy Awards, Classic Film Series, Design, Entertainment, Hollywood, Illustrator, Movies, Oscars

Classic Film Series: Elizabeth Taylor Tribute

We may have lost Elizabeth Taylor March 23, 2011, but the beauty of film is she will always be with us. Click the image below for the full tribute design.

Filed under: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Classic Film Series, Design, Entertainment, Hollywood, Illustrator, Movies, Elizabeth Taylor, film, illustration, movies

Classic film series: The Birds (1963)

The Birds (1963) is one of those films my dad made my sisters and me watch as kids and now I look back and say, “What was he thinking?” Hundreds of birds attacking folks for no apparent reason is a terrifying thing to watch as an adult, let alone as a youngster.

I read Daphne du Maurier’s short story in high school. I appreciated the Alfred Hitchcock film after that. The movie develops incredibly slowly, but like any Hitchcock film, the intensity grows throughout. It’s a classic for certain.

Filed under: 1960s, Classic Film Series, Design, Entertainment, Movies, Uncategorized

Classic film series and OBU blogabout

On this day in history, Ouachita Baptist College (now University) became a reality. And how glad I am!

I could write about the colorful campus, the friendly folks, the A+ academics. I could write about how Ouachita changed and grew me. But I’m not going to. I’m just going to give these bits of advice to prospective students of this University:

• If you step on campus for the first time and God nudges you, I can bet He’s telling you OBU is right for you.
• If you leave campus and God nudges you, call up your admissions counselor. Maybe you just need to talk some more to someone who knows and loves Ouachita.
• If your sibling goes to OBU, it might be the right place for you. Pray on it, explore your options and when God nudges you toward OBU, listen to Him.
• If you are a high school student looking to attend a small Christian college, check out OBU!

Both of my sisters attend Ouachita, but going there was not an easy decision for either of them. Their experiences have been completely different than mine. That’s what makes this school so wonderful.

Leading into my design below, I shall use a cliché and say, “Jump on the band wagon!” Join the Ouachita family. And if you students get a call from my sister Madison who is working as a telecounselor, don’t hang up on her!

Happy Founders Day. On this lovely Labor Day, I recommend checking out “The Band Wagon,” a 1953 musical starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. The storyline is uncontrived and solid for a musical, and the dancing between Astaire and Charisse is impeccable. There are laughs aplenty and songs galore, including the famous “That’s Entertainment.”

For this classic film series piece, I captured a moment from “Dancing in the Dark,” a gorgeous Astaire/Charisse dance sequence in Central Park.

Filed under: 1950s, Classic Film Series, Design, Entertainment, News, Baptist, classic movie, Cyd Charisse, Fred Astaire, graphic design, illustration, musical, Ouachita, prospective, students, University

Classic film series: Rear Window (1954)

I have no problem with a director falling in love with an actor and using him in nearly every film the director makes. My favorite actors and directors are collaborators: Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese, Jimmy Stewart and Alfred Hitchcock.

Stewart and Hitchcock only made four films together before going their separate ways (Hitchcock blamed Stewart’s age on Vertigo‘s failure to attract audiences in 1958). My favorite of their movies together is Rear Window (1954). Not only does Stewart show off his acting by spending the entire film in his apartment stuck in a wheelchair with his left leg in a cast, but the story keeps you engaged from start to finish. It’s a murder mystery with a bit of glamour (thanks to the delightful Grace Kelly) and one of Hitchcock’s finest pieces.

Filed under: 1950s, Classic Film Series, Design, Entertainment, Hollywood, Movies