I could have put two hundred images in this post that have been influential! It starts with illustrated books I still think of from when I was small, and onward.
I've never actually done this before, collecting these fragments together in one spot, trying to skim it down to images or ways of working that I feel are present in my mind, despite how long it's been... But I see a thread throughout that I didn't expect and that's exciting.
Thanks Yuko - wish I could edit it more, but I don't want to!
The Cuckoo Clock, by Mrs. Molesworth - Illustrated by C.E. Brock. Right: The Real Mother Goose - illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright.
Illustrator Garth Williams - Charlotte's Web and Little House on the Prairie. I love the softness he brought forth, in the expressions, the tone...
This book cover has stuck with me since I was under ten years old... Will have to go home to dig out the book to find the illustrator.
Snow White, as illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. I have a stolen copy of her version of Sleeping Beauty as well... My apologies, Waterloo Public Library!
Around age eleven I was given a book of Edgar Allen Poe stories... The illustrations are burned indelibly in my brain - scared the hell out of me - (still freak me out a bit), but perfect for a kid who was into ALIEN, The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock.
Andrew Wyeth, The Helga Pictures
Paul Klee, Magic Fish (Was in college when I discovered these paintings.)
J.C. Leyendecker, Alberto Vargas
Edward Hopper, Hotel Room, 1931
Right: Maxfield Parrish
Enoch Bolles (my favourite pinup artist), Alberto Vargas and the Blue Fairy from Walt Disney's Pinochio.
Was in college when I met "Women Friends" by Klimt... There are other pieces by him that I have grown to like better, but at the time this one burned bright in my head.
Florence Carlyle, The Tiff, 1902
Czech film poster, found in a basement bookshop while in Prague.
Ramon Casas i Carbó La Sargantain 1907
Passoti... Been trying to find a book or poster with this image for the longest time.
Got a job for The Walrus magazine, for a really interesting article on the mainstream acceptance of pornography (the astounding success of the Fifty Shades trilogy by E.L. James) and how e-readers are the new brown paper bag for masscult books.
From the piece: "This is why Lolita and Tropic of Cancer might still be considered dangerous: their authors are unafraid to extend their vision into uncomfortable areas or offend readers. By contrast, it is difficult to imagine anyone seriously wanting to ban SECRET or Fifty Shades of Grey, its attitudes and approach are easily assimilable in our present cultural moment."
I focussed on the idea of accessibility, safe erotica - packaged in such a way that won't overstep boundaries or discomfit a reader... Consumerist, conservative, acceptable - a comparison of the average reader of this erotica with the Disney-fied Cinderella story.
Here's a full page and a spot I did recently for art director Giorgia Virgili at Stanford Magazine, a client that is always a pleasure to work with. Written by intern Rachel Kolb, deaf since birth, it was a good read and fun to figure out.
While hashing out my ideas, I specifically stayed away from any kind of puzzle imagery. I had something going on with ears-as-eyes, but it all came off a bit too goofy and light for the tone of the piece.
When I was ready to submit my sketches, I had arrived at something interesting with using water/waves. Waves are like words for her, they keep coming, unending, gone quickly... Can be different sizes, intensities... Overall I wanted to convey the stress/anxiety she experiences when trying to decipher what people are trying to say to her. (The article also shows that lipreading is not entirely negative, and in fact helps her in ways that surprise her constantly, so I kept that in mind.)
AND - The woman depicted was not intended to be an actual portrait, but it was a nice surprise today to see that the author is actually blonde.
