In the meantime, read a bit about what is traditionally called the Golden Age of American Illustration. It all started with Howard Pyle. We looked at a couple of his students last time, Andrew Wyeth and Jessie Wilcox Smith. This time let's look at the guy who is considered the shining star of The Golden Age - Maxfield Parrish.
http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/parrish.htm
See more of his work here:
http://parrish.artpassions.net/
Tell us something you like about Maxfield Parrish's work, and how you might be able to use that something in your own work.
That's what these great masters are here for you know. To teach us. Their lives may be interesting and their work a joy to view, but as students of the art of illustration it's not just enough to appreciate and admire- we need to USE them. Study. Borrow. Steal. They won't mind.
Next- all of us who did a Google this past Friday know that it was the 100th anniversary of Mary Blair's birth.
YES. HER.
Now, I know what you're thinking- but so what if eyebrows weren't her strong suit. She was a master of color and design like no one else. She is most popular for her concept art that she did for Disney in the early 1900's. Her style can be seen directly in the movies that she worked on - Alice in Wonderland,Peter Pan, and Cinderella to name a few. But her influence continues to extend long after her death: many elements of her style have become part of the "look" of Disney that has remained constant through the generations. Her work is full of fun and color. It should come as no surprise that she had a very successful carreer as a children's book illustrator as well.
See more of Blair's work here:
This week for our contemporary illustrators of note, we'll start with Gary Kelley.
Since the 1990's utill this very day, Kelley has been one of the most successful, popular, and prolific illustrators in America. HE IS THE GUY. Yes, the guy who I've been asking you about. The guy who did these:
That's right folks - the aritst responsible for the murals above all of the cafes in all of the Barnes and Noble bookstores everywhere is Gary Kelley. His unique style (usually employed via chalk pastels) with its simple graphic elements of hard and soft edges, basic shapes, and intricate compositions, has graced everything from children's books, to editorial magazines, to product advertisements, to gallery walls all around the globe. He is a living master. I encourage you to study his work.
See how Kelley works his way through an illustration:
And a whole lot more of his work:
Finally this week we have Natalie Ascencios, fine artist and illustrator.
It is a trend among painters working for print (which is the only basic diffrence between a so-called "Fine Artist" and so-called "Illustrator") to make their works with as little texture as possible, jsut for the ease of scaning and printing the image. Natalie Ascencios however, uses paint texture jsut as much as she does line and color. Notice her unique style, especially how it effects her portraits. Though very stylized and simplified, she can capture just enough of the person to make a convincing likeness.
See more of Ascencios' work here:
I agree with Eric in the sense that illustration is alive today and extended into a number of fields that people like Pyle would never had thought possible. Eric talked about stumbleupon, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. I think of all the great demos I have watched on YouTube, and the many other ways that illustrators can share advice with one another. I think that Barron Story said it best when he called illustrators the "band of the hand". The illustration community works together to make sure that our profession is taken seriously, and never allowed to grow stale. I don't know if I would say that we are still in the golden age though. I think modern day artists are carving out their own space in illustration history, and deserve an "age" all their own.
ReplyDeleteIn a lot of Maxfield Parrish's sunlit outdoor paintings, the shadows seem surprisingly colorfull. Some of the, look red, and a lot of them look blue. Thats something I'll try to think about when working wih color, and sunlight. In general the light and colors in his paintings are just really delicious!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Eric, that we are in the golden age of illustration right now. The internet has so much information that is so easily accessible. Whether it's stumble upon, youtube, artist's websites, or even google, there is so much information out there for us to see and explore. I definitely think that some people take it for granted. Imagine not having the internet, where would you look to find these things, or would you even look at all? It's weird to think about.
ReplyDeleteI find that Mary Blair's use of bold colors patten really brings out the mood of her works. The colors kind of makes me think of pop art. Her use of simple shapes along with eye catching colors really makes the work pop out. Thanks for introducing her!
ReplyDeleteEach of these illustrators have a very prominent style of their own that is unique and that carries itself throughout all of their pieces. I know that a "style" does not create itself intentionally, but I admire their work because you can tell that it came straight from them without someone else's influence or ideas getting in the way
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