No. 416, Toby's Ocean Star

 

No. 416, Toby's Ocean Star by Tom Wills, July 2018.

I have a childhood friend who has always been an adventurer and traveler, who found love and family overseas. When we were kids we had lesser adventures but still a little edgy, on boats and canoes on rivers and lakes. While I chose a safe haven at home, he chose a Navy uniform, the oceans and deserts and sky.

Somewhere along the way, in Spain, he married and had a son, and grew close to his father-in-law, who is pictured here. Maybe it's because his own dad had a boat and liked adventures.

I don't know much about the captain here or the occasion for the photo, or why it's a favorite that my buddy of nearly five decades wanted drawn.  It's Toby's Ocean Star, drawn from a cell phone photo taken in a far, far away place.

The picture was a little grainy and a lot washed out, so it took some imagination to bring out the details of Toby's cap, khakis and the hardware on the Ocean Star.  I started with the face and emailed images to make sure it looked like him.

There was a lot of shading involved to capture the sunlight on those pockets and on the chrome. Some guess work was involved, too, to fill out his cap and the boat wheel.

For a black and white rendering, though, it does capture the sun, and maybe the waves and open air and, I hope, a sense of adventure.

This one was sent to Spain for Christmas.  It is my most-traveled piece.