Is the world of illustration dying, specifically the kind of illustration that created great men like Howard Pyle, NC Wyeth, Dean Cornwell and so many others I adore? I once wanted to be an illustrator because of them, because I wanted to have their skill and understanding, their greatness. I wanted to be able to create that kind of drama and bring to life stories with that kind of awe-inspiring sweep of paint on canvas. I think each of us as artists crave that kind of greatness. But does anyone want it anymore, at least in that fashion? It seems the in-crowd prefers smears of color on canvas to great works of composition and form, modern collages and design styles to the highly detailed and beautifully executed drama of the past. It makes my heart ache on what they are missing out on.
So let's take a moment to relish the greatness of our predecessors and savor their incredible, undeniable, ageless *drawesome-ness. Here is some work by two of my absolute favorites:
*Drawesome is a term coined by... I forget Kristin, who did coin it?
So let's take a moment to relish the greatness of our predecessors and savor their incredible, undeniable, ageless *drawesome-ness. Here is some work by two of my absolute favorites:
A Few Pieces by Howard Pyle, considered to be the Father of American Illustration:
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| detail of the previous image |
A Few by NC Wyeth~ He studied under Pyle
*Drawesome is a term coined by... I forget Kristin, who did coin it?
2 comments:
awwww, what a fine collection!
i don't think it's dead. in fact, i think we should bring back classic illustration. just came back from the ny field trip and i should talk to you sometime (or e-mail) what brad holland talked about. i think you'd find it intriguing. :)
also, i coined 'drawsome' (also drawesome). you should check out my art blog; i added an 'e' but just because it looked better asymmetrical. but yes. thanks for the reference ;)
Those are amazing! Yes, I think there need to be more books with illustrations like that!
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