At last, now with Christmas, I have some time to doodle a bit.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
New sketches...;)
I was very happy with a few opportunities to sketch from life! I LOVE it! These sketches were all done in 1-3 minutes.
I also found some time to again practise caricature drawing:
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Thomas Blackshear
What a terrific painting of Beauty and the Beast! I suspect Thomas Blackshear was influenced by Gustav Klimt as well as Maxfield Parrish; the result is very elegant.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Telephone scribbles...
Sketching while also calling on the telephone can somehow loosen up your drawings...!
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Fiep Westendorp
I recently bought a postcard with an illustration of Fiep Westendorp printed on it. The same illustration is portrayed below. It reminded me of just how great an illustrator Fiep was!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Sunday, July 06, 2008
De kruistocht van Dries de Betonne
I have written about Peter van Straaten before...he's one of Hollands greatest illustrators. In 1981 van Straaten published a comic of political satire on Dries van Agt titled 'De kruistocht van Dries de Betonne' ('The crusade of Dries the Concrete'). The comic originated 'from the sketchbook of an unofficial observer' as van Straaten puts it, and deals with van Agts' leadership when he was Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
Van Straaten dedicated his comic to Harold Foster (whom in fact was a source of inspiration for van Straaten when he was young). The homage to Foster is evident and van Straaten does a wonderful job!
Two of his illustrations....enjoy!
Van Straaten dedicated his comic to Harold Foster (whom in fact was a source of inspiration for van Straaten when he was young). The homage to Foster is evident and van Straaten does a wonderful job!
Two of his illustrations....enjoy!
Piet Wijn
Piet Wijn (b. 1929) illustrated in +- 1979 the story 'Jorrit'. The story is written by Rindert Kromhout and was published exclusively in Donald Duck magazine. I have only two illustrations of this story and wish I had more...! What a GEM!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Rien Poortvliet
Rien Poortvliet (1932-1995) is remembered by many people for his 'Gnome' books. The amazing talent of Poorvliet is however better illustrated in his animal books. I have never seen an illustrator better capture the personality and beauty of animals! In his field Poortvliet certainly was one of the greatest living illustrators.
Poortvliet often spoke of his religious life in his books, but most apparent in his book "Hij was een van ons" ('He Was One of Us: The Life of Jesus of Nazareth'). Here the life of Christ is portrayed by Poortvliet in a humble fashion. The book is quite touching!
Poortvliet often spoke of his religious life in his books, but most apparent in his book "Hij was een van ons" ('He Was One of Us: The Life of Jesus of Nazareth'). Here the life of Christ is portrayed by Poortvliet in a humble fashion. The book is quite touching!
More phenomenal comic artists...!
In Holland some people yell 'toppi!' when they are excited about something. Sergio Toppi (b. 1932) is certainly 'toppi!', but not well-known under a certain age. He's VERY much old-school.
But as the saying goes, a thing of beauty is a joy forever, and that certainly holds true for this mans dazzling comic art:
Buy his books and be inspired.
A friend of Toppi, and even a greater layout artist and drafsman is Dino Battaglia (1923-1983). Battaglia is a master of graphic narration! Almost every frame in his comic work is worthy of study...: they are little miracles of graphic composition, texture, lighting and coloring. Here are four pages of Battaglia's "Till Eulenspiegel" (1975):
But as the saying goes, a thing of beauty is a joy forever, and that certainly holds true for this mans dazzling comic art:
Buy his books and be inspired.
A friend of Toppi, and even a greater layout artist and drafsman is Dino Battaglia (1923-1983). Battaglia is a master of graphic narration! Almost every frame in his comic work is worthy of study...: they are little miracles of graphic composition, texture, lighting and coloring. Here are four pages of Battaglia's "Till Eulenspiegel" (1975):
More Jose Ortiz please!
In the blogosphere there is only little information published on some comic art masters or illustration giants.
One of them is Jose Ortiz Moya. Born in 1932, Ortiz is a virtuoso draftsman and he is incredibly skilled in the pen & ink medium. Ortiz's style is easily recognizable: daring strokes of ink and a heavy use of black segments.
In his best work, Ortiz has only a handful of equals.
The Comiclopedia of Lambiek.net gives the following biography:
"When he was very young, José Ortiz Moya won a tournament organized by the Spanish magazine Chicos. This launched him into the comic scene, and he started producing numerous pocket-sized comics, like 'Capitan Don Nadie', 'Dan Barry el Terremoto' and 'El Duque Negro'. From 1959 on, he created 'Sigur el Vikingo' and 'Johnny Fogata', and in 1962, for the English newspaper Daily Express, he made 'Carolynn Baker'.
In the seventies, he ventured onto the American market with several horror stories, published by Warren. At this time, his collaboration with writer Antonio Segura started. Together, they created titles such as 'Jack el Destripador', 'Morgan', 'El Hombre' and 'Burton y Cyb', all throughout the eighties. Ortiz was present in Spanish magazines like 1984, Creepy, Metropol, K. O. Comics, Zona 84, Totem and Cimoc all through the 1980s until the mid-1990s. He also cooperated with the Italian publisher Bonelli, illustrating series like 'Ken Parker' and 'Magico Vento'."
The quality of Ortiz' work varies greatly through time and in between stories, and I suspect this has something to do with working under tight deadlines.
In the English Wikipedia one can read that "Ortiz would remain with Warren until 1983 and drew more stories for that company (approximately 120) than any other artist."
A certain haste in drawing is certainly evident in Ortiz' work from that period.
A few years earlier, in 1975, Ortiz published together with Selecciones Illustrada the wonderful story "Le petit sauvage". This story is masterfully illustrated!
Could it be that perhaps Ortiz worked on this story for his amusement? The art is certainly more polished than in his other stories. Luckily the album can be bought at almost every comic convention (search between the secondhand cheap albums).
Here are some Ortiz pictures...and although hastily drawn, they are little jewels!
One of them is Jose Ortiz Moya. Born in 1932, Ortiz is a virtuoso draftsman and he is incredibly skilled in the pen & ink medium. Ortiz's style is easily recognizable: daring strokes of ink and a heavy use of black segments.
In his best work, Ortiz has only a handful of equals.
The Comiclopedia of Lambiek.net gives the following biography:
"When he was very young, José Ortiz Moya won a tournament organized by the Spanish magazine Chicos. This launched him into the comic scene, and he started producing numerous pocket-sized comics, like 'Capitan Don Nadie', 'Dan Barry el Terremoto' and 'El Duque Negro'. From 1959 on, he created 'Sigur el Vikingo' and 'Johnny Fogata', and in 1962, for the English newspaper Daily Express, he made 'Carolynn Baker'.
In the seventies, he ventured onto the American market with several horror stories, published by Warren. At this time, his collaboration with writer Antonio Segura started. Together, they created titles such as 'Jack el Destripador', 'Morgan', 'El Hombre' and 'Burton y Cyb', all throughout the eighties. Ortiz was present in Spanish magazines like 1984, Creepy, Metropol, K. O. Comics, Zona 84, Totem and Cimoc all through the 1980s until the mid-1990s. He also cooperated with the Italian publisher Bonelli, illustrating series like 'Ken Parker' and 'Magico Vento'."
The quality of Ortiz' work varies greatly through time and in between stories, and I suspect this has something to do with working under tight deadlines.
In the English Wikipedia one can read that "Ortiz would remain with Warren until 1983 and drew more stories for that company (approximately 120) than any other artist."
A certain haste in drawing is certainly evident in Ortiz' work from that period.
A few years earlier, in 1975, Ortiz published together with Selecciones Illustrada the wonderful story "Le petit sauvage". This story is masterfully illustrated!
Could it be that perhaps Ortiz worked on this story for his amusement? The art is certainly more polished than in his other stories. Luckily the album can be bought at almost every comic convention (search between the secondhand cheap albums).
Here are some Ortiz pictures...and although hastily drawn, they are little jewels!
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
John Singer Sargent
I've not been drawing much lately, so I'll post something else: two incredible paintings by John Singer Sargent. I've always liked the little girl painted on the left side of the "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" painting by Sargent. I found this extreme close-up:
Sargent paints with such confidence!
Sargent paints with such confidence!
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