A Journey Through Childhood Imagination

Some paintings are more than just images—they’re a doorway back in time. This one, titled Cowboys and Indians, was intended to be the first piece in a new autobiographical series: a visual journey through the dreamlike terrain of childhood memory. The core idea was to blend my artistic style with a retro-futuristic narrative—where a version of myself, always accompanied by a cat, travels across imagined worlds made up of toys, films, cartoons, and the stories that shaped my early years.

In this scene, we land in the dusty heart of the Wild West, inspired by the classic cowboy and Indian films I used to watch with my father. Towering desert monoliths surround us, and in the sky above, the translucent figures of a plastic Indian and a cowboy loom—those iconic toy soldiers from the 70s and 80s that filled endless hours of childhood play. The clash of bright, molded colors and the dusty calm of cinematic landscapes created a strange magic, one that I’ve tried to capture here.

This piece also gave me the chance to loosen up artistically. The style leans more toward illustration and comic art, with vibrant, saturated hues and sharp edges. It was liberating to approach the work with fewer constraints, letting the theme dictate the mood and method. However, I quickly discovered that developing such a conceptual series requires intense planning—sketches, storyboarding, and layering ideas. For now, the project is on hold. But I know I’ll come back to it someday.

Materials and Technical Details

🎨 Medium: Schmincke Horadam watercolors + Faber-Castell watercolor pencils
📄 Paper: Sennelier 300g fine-grain cotton paper
📐 Size: 26 x 36 cm
📅 Date: January 2023
🔲 Format: Landscape
🎨 Palette: Highly saturated colors balancing warm and cool tones, with an emphasis on layered depth and surreal atmosphere.

Preliminary Sketches and Concept Work

Before bringing this piece to life in watercolor, I explored several compositional ideas and figure placements through pencil and mixed-media sketches. These early drafts helped me define the atmosphere, perspective, and character of the piece. Planning a semi-narrative, retro-futuristic scene like this one required more visual development than usual—and these studies were essential in shaping the final result.

Here are a couple of concept sketches that were part of the creative process:

Final Notes / Artist’s Reflection

This piece holds a special place in my heart—not just for its subject, but for what it awakened in me. Memory, imagination, nostalgia… they all become fuel for storytelling through painting. There’s something powerful about reentering childhood from a different angle, as an artist, and reshaping those moments into new realities. This may be just the beginning of a much larger visual journey.

Further Exploration

🖼️ Explore more of my watercolor paintings
🕹️ Retro toys and childhood in the 70s & 80s

What childhood game or toy would you bring to life in a painting? Share your story in the comments!
✨ More memory-inspired works coming soon.