Archive for ‘Illustration’

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National Museum of American Illustration: video must see!

by Colleen Doran on February 18th, 2011
Posted In: Blog, Culture, Culture, Illustration

The National Museum of American Illustration claims to be the first U.S. museum devoted solely to the illustrative arts. While there is a Society of Illustrators museum and headquarters in New York City, it has nothing to compare to the works here, nor to NMAI’s magnificent setting.

The museum is the work of Laurence Cutler and Judy Goffman Cutler, famed for their extraordinary collection of imagist art. The couple penned this recent book about Golden Age superstar J.C. Leyendecker. I loved the book, but some reviewers did not believe the catalogue of Leyendecker’s works were accurate, and others believed that Leyendecker’s personal life as a closeted gay man was not handled well. I don’t know enough about the subject to add to that, except to offer that the book is the best collection of Leyendecker’s work ever published, and everyone who appreciates illustrative art and classic skills will want this in their library.

This ten minute video is a wonderful visit to the museum.

Seeing those Maxfield Parrish pieces in that setting makes me drool.

The only museum that comes close to touching that collection is the Delaware Art Museum, or, perhaps, the Brandywine River Museum. If you have a few days to indulge yourself with an eye feast, this is the place to go. Nearby, you’ll enjoy the Dupont Estates of Winterthur and Longwood, and there are many absolutely wonderful hotels in the area, as well as terrific little diners and restaurants. I highly recommend the bed and breakfast experience at the Inn at Whitewing Farm. Get the room by the lake and enjoy the swans. Breakfast and afternoon tea included.

The Longwood estate gardens are so magnificent, it will take at least a day to enjoy them. I’ve been back to the Brandywine Valley many times. It is my favorite vacation place, and a shrine to great illustrators. The Delaware museum also has an extraordinary collection of Pre-Raphaelite art. You’ll find Howard Pyle to Dante Gabriel Rossetti in one gorgeous place!

My first visit to the Brandywine area was as the guest of a small comic book convention. I am very embarrassed to say that I cannot remember the names of my kind hosts, but I have rarely enjoyed such hospitality when I have been honored to be a guest at a convention. These kind people gave me a wonderful experience. I remain very grateful. The Brandywine Valley remains with me among my happiest memories. I sent my parents there as a gift, and they also thoroughly enjoyed every moment.

Here is an interview with the curator of the Delware art museum about Howard Pyle:

The next time I make the long drive to Delaware, I’ll be taking a longer drive to Rhode Island to see the National Museum of American Illustration.

Hat Tip: Cully Hamner

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Arts and Letters Links (Links Fixed)

by Colleen Doran on January 3rd, 2010
Posted In: Blog, Culture, Culture, Fine Art, Culture, Illustration, Creator Resources, Legal, Culture, Literature

New French internet piracy law in effect.

Illegal downloaders will be sent a warning e-mail, then a letter if they continue, and finally must appear before a judge if they offend again.

Artist sues store for selling “defective” art supplies:

Macias, who said in the suit he is known for “vibrant” art, claims the degradation of his pieces has harmed his reputation and that total damages far exceed $75,000.

“(Macias) fears, as time passes, evidence of such damage and deformity will begin to appear in other of his paintings and art,” according to the suit filed Thursday.

One for the Japanophiles. A lovely story about an American man who takes care of a small, dying Japanese town and its inhabitants:

It is one of thousands of withering Japanese villages. Home to more than 100 residents in the 1950s, Tsuchikure has seen its young people move away in search of jobs and never return. After eight years without a death, it had four villagers die this year; three are in the hospital and one-fifth of the houses sit empty.


A review of a biography of the talented Patricia Highsmith, author of Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Highsmith was all too aware of the demons that fueled her writing. At 26, on New Year’s Eve 1947, she wrote a 2:30 a.m. entry in her journal: “My New Year’s Eve Toast: to all the devils, lusts, passions, greeds, envies, loves, hates, strange desires, enemies ghostly and real, the army of memories, with which I do battle — may they never give me peace.”

Reform movement for English libel laws:

Science journalists and academics are among those who have complained vociferously about the current libel laws in England and Wales, with the case of bestselling science writer and broadcaster Simon Singh becoming a cause célèbre for the libel reform movement.

A 2008 article written by Singh for British newspaper The Guardian included critical observations of the effectiveness of chiropractic and the evidence for the effectiveness of its treatments. A writ from the British Chiropractic Association soon followed, with the BCA alleging that Singh had impugned its reputation.

Italian police uncover stash of stolen fine art in the collection of a defunct dairy company:

Italian courts have ruled that Parmalat founder Calisto Tanzi bore the brunt of responsibility for the 2003 collapse of Parmalat. The daily and juice multinational was brought down by billions of dollars of debt in fraudulent bankruptcy. Many small investors losing life savings were among some 40,000 defrauded bondholders.

Sordid art: not everyone enjoys the work of painter Tracey Emin.

In the modern age, we are surrounded by man-made ugliness. And artists, who used to devote their efforts to idealising the human form, to recording the charms of nature and bringing order and beauty to our sorrows, are no longer interested in those tasks.

Galleries of contemporary art are filled with the debris of modern life, with subhuman figures purposefully designed to demean and desecrate the human image and with ludicrous installations that mean nothing at all.

The young Harry Potter actors: a softball story about their future, with vid. I like these kids.

His co-star Rupert Grint, 21, who plays Ron Weasley, says he has no doubt that Harry Potter will be the “biggest thing” he will be involved with.

“I make the most of it and enjoy it,” he says.

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ENSURE YOUR TRIP TO FRANK FRAZETTA’S FANTASTIC WORLDS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!

by Colleen Doran on November 24th, 2009
Posted In: Blog, Culture, Comics, Culture, Illustration, Culture, Comics, Image Comics

FANTASTICcover2

The second collection of tales from the master artist of sci-fi and fantasy comes in limited quantities this December!

24 November 2009 (Berkeley, CA) – THE FRANK FRAZETTA’S FANTASTIC WORLDS returns this holiday season with an all-new hardcover collection containing the second series of highly praised Frank Frazetta inspired and approved one-shots finally under one cover! Due to the extremely limited availability of copies before the new year, fans eager to purchase the volume are highly encouraged to put in their order into their local comic book store now now.

“THE FANTASTIC WORLDS OF FRANK FRAZETTA continues to honor the wide breadth of material beloved by fans of the master artist,” Frazetta Comics editor Jay Fotos said. “We’ve gone to great lengths to ensure the newest volume will be released in time for the holiday season, but we highly encourage those looking to grab a copy to pre-order to ensure theirs is received in time as there will only be a limited amount of copies before the new year.”

THE FANTASTIC WORLDS OF FRANK FRAZETTA, VOL. 2, an oversized, limited-edition hardcover, collects NEANDERTHAL, MOON MAID, SORCERER, and FREEDOM from Image’s bestselling Frazetta Comics imprint. Each chapter of THE FANTASTIC WORLDS OF FRANK FRAZETTA presents an all-new adventure by some of the comic book industry’s most exciting creators including Tim Vigil, Jay Fotos, Joshua Ortega, Chris Ryall, Nat Jones & others, all inspired and approved by the master artist himself. This volume also contains many never-before-seen bonus scripts, preliminary sketches, unused pages and much, much more.

THE FANTASTIC WORLDS OF FRANK FRAZETTA, VOL. 2 (Diamond SEP090290/ISBN 1607061619), a 178-page full color hardcover for $29.99, will be in comic book stores December 24, 2009.

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Ellen Kushner introduces Vampyr

by Colleen Doran on November 19th, 2009
Posted In: Blog, Colleen's Work, Culture, Culture, Literature, Fantasy, Culture, Film and Television, Culture, Illustration, Culture, Literature

RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART presents
CABARETCINEMA

Where Movies and Martinis Mix

Ellen Kushner introduces Vampyr
Friday, November 20
Free ticket with a $7 bar minimum
9:30 p.m.

Vampyr
Carl Theodor Dreyer, France/Germany, 1932
(72 min)
RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART
150 WEST 17TH STREET, NEW YORK CITY www.rmanyc.org 212.620.5000
x344

A student of the occult enters a small village outside of Paris that
is plagued by vampires. Dreyer manages to create a horror film,
fraught with gorgeous cinematography and complex characters that never
allows the audience to stop thinking. All the imagery is set in a
dreamy, gauzy world that seems to exist only for the telling of this
delicate tale. In Jungian terms the vampire is a symbol of the
libidinous instincts turning against life. The archetype often
reflects the symbiotic complicity that exists between victim and
victimizer.

Novelist, performer and public radio personality Ellen Kushner is the
host and writer of the national series PRI’s “Sound & Spirit”. Her
award-winning novels include the mannerpunk cult classic Swordspoint,
and Thomas the Rhymer (World Fantasy Award). Kushner’s children’s
story, The Golden Dreydl: A Klezmer ‘Nutcracker’, has been produced as
a CD (with Shirim Klezmer Orchestra), a picture book, and will be
produced onstage in 2009-10 by New York’s Vital Theatre. She is a co-
founder of the Interstitial Arts Foundation, and lives in NYC.

THE SERIES IS INSPIRED BY:
The Red Book of C.G. Jung
Creation of a New Cosmology

This unprecedented exhibition marks the first public presentation of
the preeminent psychologist C. G. Jung’s (1875-1961) famous Red Book.
During the period in which he worked on this book Jung developed his
principal theories of archetypes, collective unconscious, and the
process of individuation. It is possibly the most influential
unpublished work in the history of psychology. More than two-thirds of
the large, red, leather-bound manuscript’s pages are filled with
Jung’s brightly hued and striking graphic forms paired with his
thoughts written in a beautiful, illuminated style. Jung was
fascinated by the mandala—an artistic representation of the inner and
outer cosmos used in Tibetan Buddhism to help practitioners reach
enlightenment—and used mandala structures in a number of his own
works.


Other films in this series:
November 27 – Bob Fingerman introduces Star Trek: The Enemy Within
December 4 – Michael Rips introduces Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
December 11 – Doug Wright introduces Repulsion
December 18 – Ken Brown introduces In a Lonely Place
January 8 – Percival Everett introduces L’eclisse
January 15 – Nick Antosca introduces Blue Velvet
January 22 – Harris Smith introduces The Face of Another
January 29 – Arie Kaplan introduces Jacob’s Ladder

http://www.rmanyc.org/pages/load/33

More from Ellen Kushner:

Coming in December, two more events that fill me with joy:

• My kids’ holiday show, THE KLEZMER NUTCRACKER, is being presented
again this year by Vital Theatre (76th/B’way) in a *fabulous all-new
production* Dec. 5 – Jan. 3! Details & tickets here:

http://www.vitaltheatre.org/TheKlezmerNutcracker.php

• Tuesday, 8 December, 7:00 pm
I’ll be sharing the bill with Delia Sherman in a reading curated by
Claire Wolf Smith, sponsored by NYRSF, at the South Street Seaport.
I’m presenting the debut of a new, unpublished “Riverside” story to be
read in 2 voices…..

PS: Set in the world of Riverside, read free online this short story written by Delia Sherman and illustrated by Colleen Doran, The Tragedy of King Alexander the Stag.

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Tolkien and Comic Art Exhibit Round Up: And do we get a say in who gets to be Thranduil?

by Colleen Doran on November 2nd, 2009
Posted In: Creator Resources, Art Supplies, Blog, Colleen's Work, Culture, Comics, Culture, Culture, Literature, Fantasy, Culture, Film and Television, Culture, Illustration, Culture, Literature, Fantasy, Lord of the Rings, Culture, Music, Colleen's Work, Shows/Exhibits

There are several very kind mentions of my Tolkien lecture at The One Ring.net, and this post is a great overview of the entire day of lectures featuring The Lord of the Rings music of Howard Shore, and linguist David Salo.

Having got things going with style, Mr Olsen was followed by Colleen Doran, who gave a wonderful presentation about Tolkien’s art, his own influences, and the art of those who have interpreted Middle Earth. She modestly focused largely on the work of others – though we all agreed we would gladly have spent more time looking at her own gorgeous drawings – and her talk was accompanied by images for us all to gaze upon and enjoy! She also brought prints of her ‘Gimli’s Gift’ drawing, for us all to take home with us.

I had a number of people ask why I did not show more of my own Tolkien work in the lecture. I chose to focus on other artists because Tolkien is big and I am small. I will try to find the time to post some of my notes. But I recall that I promised almost four years ago to post my Smithsonian lecture notes too, and never did.

If days were 48 hours long, I am sure I would temporarily delude myself into believing that would give me enough time to do all I want to do.

Anyway, nice pictures at the links, and a shout out to our friend Laura Cooper at Mythology Body, whose guest post on this blog can be found here.

Here is what Thranduil seems like to me, a sketch I did not show at the lecture. Can’t remember if this has been published.

Thranduil2

Hope to get a chance to do some official portraits of Thranduil someday, but in the meantime, this sketch makes a nice Elf King!

I’m thinking actor Luke Goss who played Prince Nuada in Hellboy: The Golden Army would make an awesome Thranduil in The Hobbit film, don’t you?

nuada

If someone could tell me what’s not to like about this guy, I am open-minded enough to listen to your opinion, but whatever it is you would be wrong.

The “Out of Sequence: Underrepresented Voices in American Comics” exhibit has traveled to the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire. The exhibition opened at the end of October and will run into December 2009.

I have several original pieces in it, including an unpublished page from issue #7 of The Book of Lost Souls, and two pages of A Distant Soil. I was surprised how many of the pieces in the exhibit from other artists are digital.

Pen and ink slowly goes the way of the dodo.

I guess this makes me a dodo. I don’t intend on giving it up.

For all the other dodos out there, check out Paper and Inks Arts, the best pen process wonk catalogue ever.

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