Louisville Film Society: What was your inspiration for the poster? A lot of previous posters have plane themes, but we love the owl. How did you land on that imagery?
Douglas Miller: I was looking at a lot of architectural drawings, especially Frank Lloyd Wright and JMW Turner’s drawings and I knew I wanted to incorporate Louisville’s skyline in a way that was more from a designer’s perspective with grid lines, notations, and a sense that there are elements for growth. I also wanted to take the theme of “Flyover” and incorporate an owl instead of a plane theme. I was thinking about the owls I see almost daily when I walk through Cherokee Park. So, this led me to add natural elements alongside the architecture because I feel like that is a big part of Louisville’s charm, the natural world of our great parks, creeks, rivers, forests, etc. as well as the skyline and bridges.
What was your process in making the poster and what medium did you use?
All of my artwork is created “traditionally” meaning by hand without digital manipulation (except for the text and fonts added later) so, it is all drawn on paper with graphite, watercolor, and color pencils. I love the “feel” of working on paper with the qualities of pencil marks being erased, reimagined, and revised have always enthralled me.
What’s your background as an artist and how did you find your style?
I have always been fascinated by art. Ever since I was a kid I have been making art, reading about art, listening to art, and looking at art. I went to art school and honed my craft and after a number of years began to develop a particular “style” that was built from emulating different characteristics of artwork that I was attracted to, mainly I have always looked at sketches, plans and unfinished work that artist’s throughout history have made as a means to strategize larger or more complete work. But, once the artwork was complete it never looked as energetic, fraught, and vulnerable as the sketches and “rough drafts” for the finished work. So I just kept making work that maintained that sense of energy and uncertainty by keeping my drawings in states of incompletion and more schematic rather than finalized.
Is there anything fun you’d like to share about yourself as an artist or from making the poster?
Most projects I make with a harmonica in my mouth while I am drawing, so anytime I hear a harmonica note I think of a specific drawing.
Is there anything you want us to plug besides your website?
Follow me on IG @douglasmillerart for shows and works in progress (they’re all really works in progress).
ABOUT DOUGLAS MILLER
Douglas Miller is a professional artist whose drawings are exhibited regionally and in galleries across the United States. Among other awards, he has received the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship from the KY Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additionally, Douglas does freelance illustrations as well as private and corporate commissions. His artwork is in the collection of the Evansville Museum of Arts and Science, the University of Louisville, the Speed School of Engineering, and numerous private collections around the world. Douglas lives and works in Louisville, Kentucky.
For more information about Douglas Miller and his artwork, visit his official website and follow him on instagram @douglasmillerart. To learn more about the 2026 Flyover Film Festival and to see what films are in store, check out our webpage.
