In an unsuspecting corner of Reading, an artist’s studio is home to the greatest imagination in this galaxy and beyond. For John R Mullaney is the man behind some of the most detailed cutaway paintings ever committed to paper.
For more than 25 years, he has been creating unique cutaway paintings that help expand the universes of sci-fi franchises such as Aliens and Star Wars.
In that time, he has painted spaceships, vehicles, landscapes, buildings and weaponry, giving viewers an opportunity to go inside each. Hundreds of hours are spent researching and devising each item.
Now, an exhibition of his work will give fans their first opportunity to buy John’s art: two decades in the making, it features some of his paintings devoted to Aliens, Firefly/Serenity, Halo, and Star Wars.
Pablo Hidalgo, Lucasfilm’s creative executive and head of the franchise’s story group, described one of John’s artworks as “an iconic Star Wars DK cutaway”. That original painting is on display at the exhibition.
As he cannot sell prints, aside from buying the books his art is featured in, this is the only way fans can get their hands on John’s paintings.
To create them John watches and rewatches and watches the show or film to reference the tiniest detail. He then consults production drawings, photos and props to turn a 2-D image on a screen into a detailed 3-D preliminary art
And he’s not finished there: the paintings are then worked up carefully, precisely and slowly. Precision strokes are used to ensure every minute detail is captured, giving a richness to every piece.
The result is screen accurate and has so much to look at that fans have been lapping up John’s work in books published by firms such as Dorling Kindersley in collaboration with Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox and Games Workshop among others.
“It’s always a buzz to have my work on show,” John says. “Any artist, whether you are making art, music or film, wants their work to be seen, heard or experienced.
“I’m really excited about this sale because it’s just not been possible before. The logistics of mounting an exhibition like this has meant it has taken 25 years to get to this point.
“But that’s the beautiful thing about the way I work. Because I use traditional methods; I’ve been accumulating this portfolio of actual paintings over 25 years, and this is the first time it has ever been exhibited – it’s the first time people can really savour the scale of these original artworks.
“In a digital world it’s really refreshing to see art in the flesh. It’s very exciting.”
While people look at the finished artwork and can admire all the details, they may not appreciate everything that goes into its creation.
One of John’s first jobs for Star Wars was creating a cutaway image of a temple. For it, he had to draw on his experience creating architectural drawings and paintings, while adapting his talents to a world that only exists on screen.
“It was hard because I’d never done it before. I had to set up this hugely complex piece of architecture using basic drawing techniques, applying what I knew about perspective from drawing architecture for property developers.
“That first job was a baptism of fire and figuring how the hell to do this.”
It was successful and John now has this framed in his studio, reminding himself every day of just how far he has come.
His technique has been refined and often sees him working from studio plans and computer models that allow him to get a good understanding of the shapes he is recreating.
“I get the perspective fine-tuned to a point of view that I think it will work well as a cutaway, then I begin the process of working out how to slice it open and create the interior. There are certain angles that lend themselves to that better than others depending on what the vehicle is.
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“It’s just trial and error, going from the vision in my head to creating the lines. I produce a really detailed work that gets as much detail as I can. This goes off for approval, I get notes back and then, using a light box, I trace the image onto watercolour paper, typically A1. I like to get it as big as possible to achieve as much detail as possible.
“I spend a good week or two fleshing out the details and getting as much line work in there as possible, making sure it all matches what you see on screen. Sometimes there are little Easter eggs in there that fans will get a kick out of.
“Once I get the thumbs up, I can ink it all. The colour stage is the most exciting part as that is where it probably all comes to life. Suddenly what was two dimensional is three, with light, shade and shadow. It jumps off the page.
“Multiple layers of watercolour give it a real complexity and depth and it’s hard to beat.”
Only when it is finished is the work scanned and John gives it a few days post-production in Photoshop, adding digital touches such as lettering.
“But I love the discipline of getting as much of the artwork as possible done on paper. Ultimately, that’s the beauty of working to tradition: there is a physical, original artwork and that is what people are going to be seeing.”
Away from his drawing board, John is also an award-winning film-maker.
His film The Joy and The Wonder, made with his band Last Picture Show, won Best Music Video at the Hollywood Art and Movie Awards and features as part of the exhibition.
Visitors will also be able to view John’s other short films which capture the creation of several artworks on display presented in dynamic time-lapse sequences, soundtracked by Last Picture Show.
John can’t wait for people to see the showcase and buy his works. And one of the reasons is personal.
“I have to sort of pinch myself and check with my inner 10-year-old and say look what I’m doing now working with these amazing franchises … it’s a buzz.”
He continues: “I’m so grateful to Lex, Brendan and all the amazing team at the Troubadour Gallery and Golden Ticket for such an exciting opportunity and giving sci-fi art fans and collectors the chance to see these rare artworks.
“The gallery is an amazing space in a beautiful hidden little courtyard – just a minute’s walk from Piccadilly Circus. You can’t get more central.
“I can’t wait for people to come and experience this exhibition. And on the days that I’m at the gallery, I’m really looking forward to chatting with visitors – I love meeting people, chatting about the art, but also hearing about their work and passions.”
At the show’s recent opening, one of those conversations led to a totally unexpected discovery.
“My friend Ram asked if he could bring a friend – I said, ‘Of course’. When he arrived, it turned out his friend Josh is actually a senior animator at ILM who has worked on Star Wars.
“It then turned out Josh had designed and animated the astonishing sequence featuring the same ship that Lucasfilm/DK had commissioned me to produce a cutaway art of – the original painting of which features in the exhibition.
“It was a meeting of total chance – talk about the Force being strong.”
John’s art is on show at The Troubadour Gallery in Smiths’ Court until Saturday, May 10. The show is a co-production with Golden Ticket London.
The gallery, in the heart of Soho, specialises in contemporary artwork such as John’s.
To book your free visit to Building Bigger Worlds and see the Star Wars, Aliens and Halo art for yourself, email: rsvp@troubadourgallery.com
For more details on the gallery, log on to: https://troubadourgallery.com/
John’s website is: https://johnrmullaney.com
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