Awakening

Inspired by the H.G. Wells novel, When the Sleeper Awakes. The story's main protagonist falls into a deep sleep for over 200 years, and awakens in a completely transformed London – a world of chaos and disorder – only to discover that he is the richest man alive. This was one book I could not put down, ultimately prompting me to paint that pivotal scene of the character’s first glimpse of the new world around him.

Awakening was displayed at the Riverside Gallery in Richmond Upon Thames in September 2011, as part of their Brave New Worlds exhibition.

Awakening is included in our pack of four postcard prints, available from the shop.

A4, digital, 2011. Created in Photoshop CS5 and Intuos4 tablet.

Awakening went through several different stages, taken from various starting points and even came close to abandonment, before undergoing a complete transformation. Pictured below is one of my early sketches.

To put the finished piece into another context, I mocked up some designs as if it were to appear on the cover of the novel.

Awakening on display at Brave New Worlds, Richmond Upon Thames, September 2011.