Sunday, August 19, 2012

Sketches and Finished Art - Part 2




As mentioned in an earlier blog, there is much to learn by studying sketches alongside the finished work.  The decisions of the artist in refining their concepts become visible and this should lead us to better and/or different thinking as we create our own works.

A sketch by Jose Segrelles for his painting "The Rhinegold".

Detail of "The Rhinegold".  Note the figure changes of the Rhine Maidens.


Herbert Draper's "The Gates of Dawn".

Otto Greiner studies for "Ulysses and the Sirens".   (Below)


John Singer Sargent's "Lady Macbeth"
Various ideas for "The Mermaid" by Andrew Loomis
The finish by Loomis
"Perseus and Andromeda" by Lord Leighton.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

J C Leyendecker Rarities - part 1

From my extensive personal collection of J C Leyendecker illustrations I am sharing some of the odd and often rare bits.
Leyendecker interior illustration with Swordplay and Vultures.
A rare self portrait in the mirror of JCL at his easel, painting his models.
A Drawn illustration.  Pencil or Charcoal?
A wonderfully elegant and restrained cigarette ad.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

19th Century Dragons - part 2

Here are a few more Dragon images that may be new to you to show the variations that imagination took in the 19th century artists.

"The Garden of the Hesperides" by Albert Herter.
A Heyden painting.

Don't know the artist of this image.
Thomas Gotch dragon painting.
St George and the Dragon by Briton Riviere.

An odd Dragon by Engel.


St George and the Dragon by Arthur Hoffmann.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

19th Century Dragons

In studying 19th Century Fantasy Art I have noticed, (and made a recurrent theme of these blogs as well as my Facebook album) that many developments of the modern world have severely restricted and narrowed the imagination of more recent fantasy artists.  In the case of dragons I blame paleontology and the discovery of the "Brontosaurus". (Although scientific naming convention says that that name is no longer correct and it should be called an Apatosaurus, to me it will always be a Brontosaurus as mentioned in the 1933 King Kong.)
Two strange beasts by Rudolf Jettmar.
In these examples of Dragon paintings we see a wide variety of body form and details.


Franz Moser Dragon

Sydney Muschamp's "The Enchantress"

Surand Painting.
Another Franz Moser image.

An early painting by Alphonse Mucha.

A Sea Serpent by Elihu Vedder (Sort of a dragon).
A "Post" cover by J C Leyendecker with an odd take on a Dragon.