Illustrator Biography Website

Jim Vadeboncoeur, a leading collector, historian, and publisher of early illustration, has just revamped his website.


His illustrated biographies of storytelling painters from before 1923 are some of the best on the Web. As a publisher, he has produced some excellent collections of black and white images by early illustrators.

JVJ Publishing Gallery of Early Illustrators Biographies
Everett Raymond Kinstler: The Artist's Journey Through Popular Culture, 1942-1962
JVJ Publishing

U.S.S. Monitor’s Turret

In Newport News, Virginia, the cylindrical turret of the Civil War ironclad U.S.S. Monitor has been carefully preserved in fresh water for nine years since its discovery.


But now the water has been drained away, and conservators are chipping off the concretions, revealing the original iron surface, where they can see the evidence of dents from the close fire cannonade of the C.S.S. Virginia on March 9, 1862. Nineteen men had to operate alongside two guns inside a cramped space that was only 20 feet in diameter.


Read more about the remarkable design of the Monitor and the efforts at rehabilitating it in yesterday’s New York Times article by John Tierney.


The painting is a detail of an illustration I did for National Geographic about five years ago.  It appears in Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist. The original is currently on view at the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News. The photo is by Steve Earley from the Virginian-Pilot.


Previously: Cumberland Art

Bansemer Day

Yesterday we hung out with Roger and Sarah Bansemer, who produce a TV show on painting. I did this portrait of Roger in a diner. I've corresponded with Roger for about 20 years, so it was nice to meet him.


The Bansemers travel all over America in a Chinook camper van. They have produced over 40 TV programs so far, and their shows are available now on more than 100 PBS channels.


We went to a Hudson River estate and Roger set up four video cameras to peer over our shoulders as we both painted and talked. We had to stop working when a thunderstorm rolled in and we were nearly struck by lightning. One of the white umbrellas lifted off its stand and flew ten feet up in the sky. I don’t think any of the cameras caught that on video.


To show you what good people the Bansemers are, they travel with a dog named Silver that they rescued from the homeless animal shelter. Silver is completely blind and deaf and can’t walk. We had to carry him around and cup our hands to give him water because it was a hot day.


While we were waiting around to get started, I drew a portrait of Silver. I admire the way old dogs bear their suffering with patience and nobility.

LINKS
Bansemer.com
Painting and Travel with Roger and Sarah (with sample TV show)
Bansemer's Book of the Southern Shores
At Water's Edge: The Birds of Florida
Mountains in the Mist: Impressions of the Great Smokies

Work Schedule

Most of the time involved in creating a book like Dinotopia goes into the final artwork. Here’s my work chart for Dinotopia: The World Beneath (1995). The book has 160 pages, with a painting on every page.


I did most of the artwork from September of 1993 to January of 1995. I set myself a production rate of ten pages per month, or one finished page every three days on average. That page rate includes the research, maquettes, posing, drawing and final painting. If I wanted to spend more than six days on a double page spread, I had to buy time by doing another piece faster than that.

There are a dozen or so paintings circled in red. They are the larger and more elaborate paintings, such as Garden of Hope (p. 73) or The Excursion (p. 70-71), which were released as art prints. Those images stood outside the narrative and did not include the main characters. I had finished most of these “anchor paintings” before starting this production schedule. Those paintings took longer, roughly one to three weeks each.

Before starting this final artwork phase, I planned the book in outline and storyboard form. After wrapping the art in January of 1995, I wrote the final text. I wrote the text last because many new ideas developed while doing the artwork.

I enjoy working under pressure, and I love having a large task like this, which focuses my mind like nothing else. I’ve found that if I set a specific goal, I can accomplish far more than if I just waited for inspiration.


Previously: Storyboarding

Horse Torso

Here’s a helpful analysis of the main forms in a horse’s body. The basic shapes to remember: “Wedge, barrel, saddle.”


An even simpler analysis was used for one of the model sheets on the “Spirit” animated movie. The shapes are “wedge, ball, and block.”


Courtesy The Famous Artist’s Course and Disney Animation.

Composition Lecture in October

No, I’m not dancing or directing traffic. It just looks like it.


My wife Jeanette did these sketches while I was lecturing at the Art Institute in Phoenix last October. She used a Japanese brush pen and no lay-in, which was very brave.

I’ll be doing another lecture / demo in Los Angeles this coming October, and there is still space in the class if you’d like to join in. This is a new talk that I’ve only given once so far (at Illustration Master Class). It focuses on composition and tonal design.

My approach is unlike most others. We’ll start by looking at what science can tell us about how we actually look at pictures, both still pictures and film. Then we’ll examine how you can design images to communicate what you want in terms of mood and drama. Finally, I’ll show you some approaches to tonal organization, which I think is the most overlooked part of most compositional theory. I’ll share lots of practical tips for artists at all levels.

We’ll have a whole evening together, which gives us plenty of time for discussion and questions, and I’ll also do a technique demo and I’ll bring books. I’ve taught at LAAFA before, and admire the faculty and students there. You might want to sign up early, as space is limited, and all my workshops have sold out.

LAAFA Workshop
Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter
Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist
Other classes at LAAFA from Scott McCloud, Nathan Fowkes, and Jordu Schell

Workshop Poll Results

There were 181 votes on the blog poll last month, where I asked you what workshop topics would interest you the most. Here’s how it sorted out.

1. Multi-figure composition 68 (37%)
2. Light + color theory   67 (37%)
3. Creature/character design  63 (34%)
4. Costumed figure drawing  53 (29%)
5. Figure drawing  50 (27%)
6. Environment design 47 (25%)
7. Perspective  47 (25%)
8. Portrait painting  46 (25%)
9. Landscape--plein air  44 (24%)
10. Animal drawing / anatomy  38 (20%)
11. Cityscape painting  30 (16%)
12. Landscape--studio comp. 25 (13%)
13. Mural painting 14 (7%)