Today I thought I would share with you a few artists that I admire.
These artists are people whos art contains elements that I would like to emulate in my own work. Some of them I have loved since childhood, and others I have discovered only recently. If you like them, visit their links and tell them as much. I'm sure they will appreciate it. At any rate, here they are.
Justin Gerard is the founder of Portland Studios, Inc., an illustration, design, and animation firm in Greenville, South Carolina. He uses watercolor, and a lot of Photoshop. And he has been occaisionally known to paint with tea. Yes, tea. He has recently published a children's adaptation of Beowulf, which he illustrated.
I greatly appreciate his use of color, and his soft, expressive lighting, which give his compositions depth and emotion. I have had the privelege of emailing him in the past, and he responded with some very encouraging thoughts on getting a start in the illustration field. See some of his art at portlandstudios.com, and click on "work" or www.quickhidehere.blogspot.com.
Cory Godbey is also an illustrator at Portland. His art is whimsical, amusing and delightful. But it can also have darker, more solemn themes. His recent wordless picture book, Ticket, is filled with spattering watercolors, flying windmills, walking clock towers, Grecian palaces, exotic birds, and a little girl with a magic tophat.
His painting, hasty pencil sketches, and whimsical figures are what I like best about his work. He also has a great sense of humor, and it shines through in a lot of pieces. But I think most of all I can relate to his style. He drew comic strips when he was a kid, and so did I. His sketches are kind of like mine, in some ways. Visit his blog at www.lightnightrains.blogspot.com or portlandstudios.com.
James Gurney
James Gurney is the author/illustrator of the Dinotopia book series. I first read Dinotopia: The World Beneath when I was, I don't know, seven, maybe. His work is still a big inspiration to me now. He paints with oils, and the level of realism that he is able to attain has always stunned me. He has written four Dinotopia books. They're about a scientist and his son who are washed ashore an island inhabited by dinosaurs and humans, and their lost civilization.
Since it's set in the 1850's, and involves a fantastic lost civilization, I guess it's always sort of had a pull on my imagination, even though I don't always appreciate his style of fantasy work (it's sort of like at times the dinosaur concept, and the rest of the concept don't mix). But I would say that his work has been a great source of inspiration to me, and if I could get 1/4 as good as he is at painting and writing, I would be doing okay. Go to Dinotopia.com for more.
Hergé
Hergé was a Belgian artist who got started in the 1930's, I believe. His claim to fame are the wonderful Tintin books. In his lifetime, he completed 24 Tintin albums. Tintin is a newspaper reporter who rarely reports anything, but instead, fights crime, solves mysteries, and has adventures. Hergé's clean, technical and precice line drawings are amazing. And it's interesting to see his how hisearlier books contain simpler, less complex scenes, but when you get to his later books, the scenes become more complex, with huge splash panels, shading, and multi-layered landscapes (especially Destination Moon).
My first Tintin book I owned when I was little was King Ottokar's Sceptre. I read and reread it, and tried to write my own book based on Tintin. I wrote it on notebook paper with a ball point pen, and got about one page drawn. I think the biggest influence for me in Hergé's work is his tight stories, and his bold graphic-novel/comic book style artwork. http://tintin.francetv.fr/uk/
Ryan Church
Ryan Church is an artist I only recently discovered, but has gained my respect as a phenomonally talented artist. He is a concept artist who has done work on movies such as Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, and Transformers. He uses a lot of digital mediums, such as Painter X and Photoshop, but his art is full of beautiful light and shadow, stunning composition, and image movement. I believe he studied for a degree in industrial design, which probably accounts for how he can draw a perfect Jedi Starfighter. He also has this knack for coming up with cultural distinguishments in his fantasy work. In other words, he can design a building or spaceship with design characteristics that set it apart from any other sci-fi/fantasy world.
I like his digital graphics, and ability to create concepts that are visually compelling, and compositionally grand. And he can draw robots like nobody's business. That's got to be a plus! He has a really helpful Q&A on his website for people (like me) who want to learn a little more about what it takes to get started in the digital/concept art field. Go to ryanchurch.com.
P. J. Lynch
P. J. Lynch is a watercolorist who lives in Dublin, Ireland. He has illustrated The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, and When Jessie Came Across the Sea, a book about an immigrant girl. This one is my favorite, although Jonathan Toomey is excellent as well. His watercolors look more like photographs, and are luminous. I would love to be able to paint like this guy. His blog is at http://pjlynchgallery.blogspot.com/.
His codename was Alpha-Bravo-Delta, and he was destined to become an unsung hero.
Alpha was packed tightly into a pasteboard tube at a factory in China. He really wanted to hang around for a few more weeks so he could go to the Beijing Olympics, but when Headquarters gives orders, they are not to be ignored.
So, in he went, along with some other stuff like gunpowder, some wads of paper, etc. And of course, his trusty Parachute. He rode for weeks on the choppy Pacific ocean in a cargo ship, then for weeks on bumpy interstate highways in a semi-trailer until finally he stopped, and he waited there in the dark tube, hoping beyond hope that he could get out as soon as possible so he could make it to his buddies' 4th of July celebration.
Little did he know, that he was headed for the most explosive of ALL 4th of July celebrations, and that he was to be part of the entertainment. Feeling that the tube was moving, he sensed that it was almost time to fulfill his destiny (whatever that was, he wasn't sure). He began to wonder if he was really cut out to be a paratrooper. Could he live up to his noble title of Alpha-Bravo-Delta, Defender of Justice, Friend of the Helpless? Or would he disgrace his fireworks manufacturer (Headquarters) and disappoint everyone watching by not working correctly?
But, he had little time to worry, for at that moment with an incredible explosion, he rocketed into the sky, and there, for one minute, he knew what he was made for. His parachute opened perfectly, he sailed through the air with the wind in his face, and all that was within him screamed: "I AM A PARACHUTE MAN!!" And then with a jolt, he was tangled in a powerline, and, well, I leave it to you dear reader, to decide the ultimate fate of our brave hero, Alpha.
But whatever you decide, remember that behind every ear-pounding explosion, every rocket's red glare, behind every starburst of sparks, there are little Parachute men who give their all for your happiness. Happy Landing, Alpha.
Yesterday I went to our local municipal airport to see a Douglas DC3.
First designed and built in the 1930's, this plane is truly a work of art, with its gentle, but modern lines, and its patriotic paint job.
We got to see it take off and land, but we didn't ride it (seats cost $150-- I think I'll pass.) When the engines cranked, billowing clouds of exhaust came sputtering out, but the engines weren't very loud, and we were standing right next to it (behind a chainlink fence).
Here I am dwarfed by the art-deco American Airlines logo on the side. I'm not sure why I'm not smiling. I was really tired yesterday (I got up at 5:30 and went to bed at 11:30 on Friday). Plus my shoulder was hurting. But I was having a good time. Honest!
The day was fantastically cool & blustery with grey cloudy skies and gusts of wind that tousled your hair. Seeing that big old plane take off made you really think about the miracle of flight. Back in the old days of flight, it was sort of this risky, adrenaline-laced, "are we going to make it?" kind of thing. Everything is aluminum and wood. It's just cool.
Nowadays think of flying, and you come up with pictures of security checkpoints, taking off your shoes, and gargantuan jetliners that make flying look like it never took any thought at all.
Back then the skies were a frontier. And 'aviator' was the equivalent of 'hero'.
Huzzah for the DC3! (Even though it's not rocket powered!)
Actually, this one has little to do with rockets, but it does explode. I drew it a few weeks ago on a whim. And no, I didn't draw it from real life. Just to put your mind at ease, I've never seen a time bomb before.
July the 4th is coming up soon. Bearing that in mind, I drew this little doodle the other day.
To challenge my creativity, and to honor our Patriotic Holiday, I will be posting rocket-inspired pictures here until the Fourth. I know, I know... It's crazy. But how am I going to become a great artist if I can't draw rockets? You draw some too, and then we can compare notes. The drawing above was done with... pencil of course. Hope you like it.
I went to the grocery store today and bought like 12 liters of soft drinks ahead of time for the picnic we're having at my house on the Fourth. It took me forever to decide what to get, because all I really like is Coca-Cola. And Sprite. Oh, and Dr. Pepper. Okay, so I got all three. It was really alot to carry so I threw them in a shopping cart and checked out, even though it felt strange to be carting around just soft drinks. Oh well.
I'm looking forward to the picnic. Maybe it'll be even more fun than last year. With more Rocket Power I hope!
A blog by a Christian teen for Christian teens covering intellectual categories & topics, such as the arts, the Bible, and living richly in Christ. Live richly!
Copyright (C)2008 Will Kelly.
July the 4th is coming up soon. Bearing that in mind, I drew this little doodle the other day.
