A man stumbles in the pouring rain, the city lights reflecting off sidewalk puddles that are responsible for his waterlogged shoes. Cars fly by and pedestrians can be found huddling together under any dry refuge waiting for the storm to pass, but not him.

No. He will face this storm head on, armed only with a newspaper that lost it's purpose several blocks ago. He no longer understands why he even continues to hold on to it, perhaps it is the need to feel protected. The need to feel like something is worth holding onto.

The storm has reached a rage now and still he walks on, alone. Even his tattered newspaper is falling apart in the wind and the words of yesterday's news begin to tear away.

But still, he walks on. 

And then despite everything, a small smile can be seen hidden at the corner of his mouth, for he knows something we do not.

He knows that to walk bravely in the storm and feel it's rage is to truly understand the peace and understanding that is sure to follow. He chooses not to settle for a temporary escape from the storm but to press on so he may experience a lasting refuge.

This is mine and Eve's latest collaboration titled, "Yesterday's News."

The inspiration for the stormy night came from Eve telling me repeatedly "Rain, Rain, Rain" as she drew her part of the collaboration. As I sat there trying to figure out how I would turn her drawing into a rainstorm the piece sort of took on a life of it's own.

I began to see a top hat, then a coat collar and part of a man's arm. From there it just took off and the story above is what came to me as I painted. I tried to imagine what this man was experiencing and his life story.
 Where was he coming from?
Was he running from or to something?
I began to relate to this fictional character and the storm became more of a symbol of what each of us go through in life and the refuge we all seek.

Here is Eve's original sketch.


I was able to try out a new technique in order to create the newspaper effect. I didn't want to just simply use watercolors but transfer actual newspaper ink to the painting instead. The ultimate goal was to create a look that had the newspaper ink literally flying off the page into the storm, they would become lost words... yesterday's news.

To achieve this effect I ended up using a blender marker, shown in the photo. You place the newspaper face down onto the paper and press the marker on top to slowly transfer the ink. The more times you go over the more ink that will be transferred.

Although this was the first time I got to try this I am definitely looking forward to using this technique in future pieces!

Hope you enjoy this piece and make sure to check out the time lapse video! If you listen carefully you can hear Eve's adorable voice saying, "Rain, Rain, Rain."

"Yesterday's News"

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