We were very impressed with this drawing of Sam Bell tweeted to MOON Director Duncan Jones last week, so much so we had to get in touch with Sheila and find out more about it.
If you pop over to Studio Sheila you’ll see pop culture, movies and myths provide the main inspiration for her work, we asked Sheila to tell us a bit more about her work and how MOON inspired her in particular.
“Being that I love movies, I like the idea of drawing something from a movie that sticks with me. That something could be a specific actor’s performance or a scene that’s deeply moving, bizarre, scary, or just plain funny, and basically “freezing” it on paper.
As far as what medium I use, I work in pencil, ink, charcoal, and sometimes watercolor.
Regarding Moon, I’d been curious about it for a while and finally bought it. Since the movie stayed with me for a long time after I watched it, I wanted to draw something Moon-related. Without giving anything away in the movie, I wanted to show the various character traits of Sam Bell, which includes humor, too.
And I wanted to incorporate Gerty the robot, too. Gerty is a character that provides some relief for the viewer, I think, because you empathize with Sam’s loneliness and want him to have some kind of company. I think it puts the viewer more at ease to see him with Gerty. But Gerty is also a dark character in that it’s only trying to comfort Sam because it’s been programmed to do so.
I’m not an actor and far from an authority on acting or film-making, but I feel that Sam is one of those actors who has no vanity with his performances and that’s what makes his acting so strong. What I mean “no vanity” is that he’s not afraid to appear very raw in roles. It hits you in your gut. And he’s primarily alone in this eerie and haunting movie so the film hinges on whether the actor can pull it off or not. I think it needed a really strong actor like Sam to do it justice. That’s the kind of actor that makes for a great drawing subject, too.
Plus, is there a person around who doesn’t like Sam Rockwell’s acting? I haven’t found one yet. It’s Sam Rockwell, people!”
It’s a bloody lovely piece of work, and one that you could own too if you like?
Competition closed, CONGRATULATIONS TO Chris Hager 
To win a copy of ‘Mooned’ by Studio Sheila just drop us a mail with the answer to the following question.
Sam Bell is quite an accomplished artist too, what artistic hobby does Sam use to pass the time during his time on the Sarang MOON base?
Answers to: unklerupert@manmademovies.co.uk
Subject line: Studio Sheila MOON Competition
One entry per person please.
Prize for the winner is one 14″ x 20″ print of ‘Mooned’ by Studio Sheila.
Closing date for entries Friday 27th June. Good luck!
