Crowbar's Farewell

Crowbar's Farewell- Acrylic/mixed media; 12" x 18"- Greg Newbold

I did a series of paintings for a story written by Jean Craighead George called When Crowbar Came. Based on a true story of a crow who was befriended by the authors' family and the shenanigans that this very smart crow perpetrated during his time with them.  I painted seven scenes for an educational reading anthology series and this piece was the finale. In the end, the crow decided he belonged with those of his kind. When all the crows scattered like leaves in the wind one fall, Crowbar went with them.

40 Illustrators and How They Work

War Bonds painting by Dean Cornwell

A recent post on James Gurney's excellent blog mentioned the good news that a new book called "Masters of American Illustration: 41 Illustrators and How They Worked" By Fred Taraba is forthcoming. This prompted me to pull out my copy of the original classic from the 1940's "40 Illustrators and How They Work". The book features such legendary illustrators as N.C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell and Dean Cornwell, but also other artists whose work is now nearly forgotten but nonetheless worthy of examination.

Cornwell's sketches for the above painting

Once again I came away impressed at the level of commitment that these artists dedicated to getting the image right. This is a skill that is sadly missing from much of contemporary illustration. Trends toward "primitive" and naive illustration aesthetics have led many artists to believe that visual research is not necessary or worse yet that it is actually preferable to skip research altogether.This mentality is obviously misguided as such investigation can only help in the depiction of a chosen subject, even allowing you to consciously depart from it more easily, should you choose. Below are a couple of examples from the book of the extensive research that went into these artist's finished work.

Sketches by Donald Teague

As they say, the finished painting never lies and the hard work is evident in the convincing nature of these paintings.This is a book I would recommend to any illustrator or classic illustration enthusiast. I purchased my copy many years ago but am pleased to find that good copies can still be had for a reasonable price.

Find 40 Illustrators and How They Work here

Addendum: Dan Zimmer of The Illustrated Press,  publisher of the upcoming "Masters of American Illustration: 41 Illustrators and How They Worked" has told me that the publication date will be announced hopefully by the end of December. It will be full color, 432 pages, hardcover with dust jacket. It will collect all the classic illustrator profiles from Fred Taraba's articles written for Step-By-Step magazine. This sounds like a must have book. I can hardly wait!

Creating a Sense of Place

Wire Sitter- by Greg Newbold, Acrylic- 9" x 18"

Illustration is about telling stories. It's about creating something that makes the  viewer ask what happened just before this, or what will happen next? What is the story behind this place? Illustration, and art in general is about crafting an image that the viewer can immerse himself in, that he can relate to. Sometimes a picture takes you back to a place in your childhood memory that you have not visited in a long time.  Howard Pyle, one of my favorite illustrators, very eloquently touched on this topic in the following quote:

The stories of childhood leave an indelible impression, and their author always has a niche in the temple of memory from which the image is never cast out to be thrown on the rubbish heap of things that are outgrown and outlived. -Howard Pyle

The emotional response  we get from viewing a painting is often less about the painting than it is about the emotional connection that we as observers bring to the viewing of the work. I try to create in my work an environment in which one can visit for a while, perhaps rest or even contemplate.   I think great art of necessity is a participatory experience. If the viewer doesn't bring their own experience into the equation, if it elicits no response,  is it really art? I am not talking about art whose sole purpose is to shock or offend- that type of response is a subject for another day. I am speaking of a real connection, where you feel the soul of the work. Many times people will comment to me that something I have done "reminds them" of a certain place or time, that it speaks to them. This is when I know I have done my job well and that satisfaction doesn't come until afterward.

This painting is from the book Spring Song written by Barbara Seuling.

Prize Pumpkin-The Sequel

Prize Pumpkin-Part 2 14" x 19" Acrylic

By Greg Newbold

So after Farmer Dixon wins first prize in the ridiculously gigantic pumpkin growing contest, he has to figure out what to do with his monumental gourd. He rigs up a rope contraption and a steam shovel to lift it and  bargains with the local bakery to swap him. The trade for the hefty squash nets him some serious pies. Don't ask me how he got the thing loaded in the first place, but it took the crane to get it off. This painting was a fun exercise in narrative storytelling as I took the scenario that I came up with in the first cover and extended it to what happens after. This one was also a Reading Street textbook cover for Pearson/Scott Foresman.