Mars Landing

The vastness of the galaxy and outer space have always been fascinating to me. As a kid, the idea of anyone actually landing on Mars was simply a science fiction story. But now here we are today, and it's a believable accomplishment in the not-so-far-off future.

I wasn't consciously thinking of any of that when I painted this, I was just in a creative flow listening to music and relaxing. I had no idea what to name it and put it away in a drawer. Months later I rediscovered it when I was preparing for an art show.

At that point my imagination kicked in and I saw the whole story!

An alien creature and their caterpillar pet are assisting, tethering the rocket because it’s starting to lean slightly to the left. They're also providing complimentary wi-fi access.

An astronaut is emerging from the rocket, clearly happy to be there with the long flight completed.

Two circles are melded into the sky background, so I looked up Mars' moons…and it has two: Phobos and Deimos. Perfect, that totally tracks.

On the bottom right, where I randomly painted a light green “X” and an arrow pointing to it… I’ve decided that it is their destination. It’s a map to the space traveler's restaurant and billiards pub.

The alien and astronaut go there to debrief, rack a few games, talk about art and philosophy, and then go to their dwellings for the night.

The end.

Original Painting:

9” x 12”

Black Ink and Watercolors on Watercolor Paper