As we near the end of our journey through the alphabet some of you may have noticed a slight itching in the back of your eyes. Maybe you’ve felt hunger pains, not in your belly, but at the midpoint of your head. That’s where your visual cortex is found and that hunger signals the beginning stages of art addiction. Other symptoms include a compulsive need to discover all the names of teachers and friends of a particular well-known artist, exploding bookcases due to the weight of too many art books, and a deep knowledge of auction houses and their scheduled public viewings. Lastly, hives.
Don’t worry, the addiction is relatively benign and plenty of support groups exist. Just remember, it’s a scavenger hunt which has no list and never ends.
This week’s installment is S, which stands for SUPER SIZED. Click through for a double portion of A is for Artist.
Note: Click on images to see them larger and in much higher quality.
John Singer Sargent
One of the holy trinity of big brush painters. His paint must’ve been ground from pure bravura, because people are still trying to paint portraits like him. He was a master of putting in all the necessary details and expunging the rest.
Frank Schoonover
One of Howard Pyle’s earliest and most trusted students. Schoonover is a prime example of why Pyle’s students ruled the golden age of illustration. Dramatic lighting and dynamic compositions are front and center in every single piece of Frank’s work.
François Schuiten
A French comic artist who’s known for rendering phantasmagorical architectural spaces. Primary features include Canyons of Beaux Arts buildings populated by Art Deco flying machines.
T. F. Simon
A seemingly little known Czech graphic artist, he was a master of discovering both the beautiful and the mysterious aspects of Prague. A European counterpart to the numerous master Japanese printmakers of the early twentieth century.
Ivan Solyaev
A Russian illustrator whose work blends the grotesque and the mysterious. Distorted perspective and grim colors combine to make snapshots of junkyard nightmares.
Beth Cavener Stichter
A contemporary sculptor who seems to shape animals not out of clay, but raw emotion. Her fantastic work oozes with characterization, sensuality and dynamic gesture. It stands as some of the most awe-inspiring dimensional work in the contemporary art scene.
William Stout
A modern master of the inked line, William Stout has had a long and varied career inside and outside the entertainment industry. He’s long been associated with the rendering of dinosaurs and this reached a new peak with his completion of seven of the twelve large murals for the San Diego Natural History Museum.
Justin Sweet
If you were wondering what it might look like if N.C. Wyeth became obsessed with Frazetta’s subject matter, you can find your answer in Justin Sweet.
C O L O P H O N
Warnock Pro is by Robert Slimbach, a prolific designer of text types for Adobe. Talented type designer Christian Schwartz created Neutraface (House Industries 2002) based on the mid-century architectural lettering of Richard Neutra.
We are Kurt Huggins and Zelda Devon. We live in a pocket-sized apartment in Brooklyn where we collect neat, weird things. Our home is abundant with books, old furniture, mismatching tea cups, and a cat named Cipher. We both illustrate stuff for money so we can continue to invent stories, buy shoelaces, watch puppet shows, and eat sandwiches.
Great “S’s”! Thanks for Simon. He’s a new one on me.
Superb collection.
Superb. Stunning. Surreal. Skills. What an amazing collection!
I want François Schuiten to draw Stubby in deco NY so bad.
And one of my all time favorites, Mead Schaeffer.
Hey Guys,
Kim Kincaid asked on my Facebook page:
Zelda, I’m curious about how you and Kurt prepare for these posts? For instance, were you already aware of someone like Simon (how wonderful!) or do spend time researching books and internet? What is your criteria for selection? Regardless, you two have exposed me to some incredible finds. Thank you. Hope you repeat this again after to you reach ‘Z’.
Sargent is an amazing artist, his use of color makes me want to cry. Sweet is incredible too, you can see the Frazetta influence. All are truly gifted by God. Thanks for sharing!
Sidney Sime!
To Kim Kincaid
Believe it or not, we probably only discovered a handful of new artists during this venture. I’d say we’re sort of fanatics in that regard. If I find an image compelling then I must know who made it. Research uncovers the artist’s name followed by their teachers and friends. It spirals out of control from there.
Sometimes I can’t even remember how I found them, T F Simon is a good instance of that. I was probably searching for images of Prague, an open market, or who knows what when I ran across his prints.
As far as criteria, we we’re tending towards the historic, the obscure, or the new. We hoped to expose people to artists they might never have known about. Which is why someone like Frazetta isn’t on the list, he’s a titan amongst most sci-fi and fantasy fans.
I hope that answers it, feel free to ask anything else. Also, I want more people to post artists, I always love discovering new ones!
-K
P.S. Irene, Mead was almost on the list but I felt like Schoonover doesn’t get enough love.
S’ok, Kurt. Just remember this when I coldly stomp by you guys the next time I see you. I mean,what other artist was dedicated enough to the field to DIE at the Society of Illustrators, huh!?
Kim: I gotta say, just about everyone I know is a fanatic about art but Kurt and Zelda are the most driven people I know when it comes to learning about artists and the education of artists. It’s really infectious when you are around them.
Kurt, that does answer it. Thank you for all your efforts. You and Zelda have truly expanded my meager knowledge. I have my favs, most are more well known so I appreciate your treasure trove of the more obscure but equally talented finds.
Irene: Thanks for scooting me over here from FB. I do hope you continue highlighting their “infectious” appetite on future Tor ventures.
A fine “S” selection but I must add one of the great masters of light – Joaquin Sorolla.
His Otra Margarita (Another Marguerite) is set in a bleak prisoner transport railcar but the light bouncing around in there is wonderful. Where it falls directly on the bench it looked (when looking at the original) as soft and creamy as butter. My favorite is his Maria con sombrero (Maria with Hat).
If you ever hear of a Sorolla exhibition anywhere near you do make an effort to go see it.
Ludon-
Check out the J’s, that’s where you’ll find our good friend Sorolla.
We had to many S’s and I didn’t want to leave him out.
I actually kind of dig Sorolla a bit more than Sargent, and if anyone is in New York they have to go Uptown to the Hispanic Society. That’s where they house Sorolla’s epic murals. He was a true master of outdoor light and color.
Irene-
I gotta hear this story about Mead dying at the Society of Illustrators.