Monday, August 31, 2009

How the Moon SHOULD Look

The previous post had a comment that sent me on a tiny research mission and I bumped into these images of Chesley Bonestell's vision of a lunar base. 



Chesley Bonestell, Lunar Base depiction, 1949

Chesley Bonestell, Lunar exploration depiction, 1961

Lunar Architecture

This is an image from my morgue, so I don't remember the source or date, but it's at least 1970ish or earlier. It's obviously a visionary rendition of a future lunar base, and I just am gaga over the concept of domes and building into the geologic formations. And that vehicle looks like a VW bug—yow, how cool!



Friday, August 28, 2009

Macabrely Beautiful

It's always fun to see sources and inspirations. This is a fairly famous poster for the Grateful Dead concert at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco in 1966. It recycled an illustration by Edmund J. Sullivan for Quatrain XXVI of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam in 1859. 

Both uses are striking and macabrely beautiful.

Poster by Mouse Studios, 1966

Book illustration by Edmund J. Sullivan, 1859

Oh, come with old Khayyam, and leave the Wise
To talk; one thing is certain, that Life flies;
One thing is certain, and the Rest is Lies;
The Flower that once has blown for ever dies.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Exquisite Women

JC Leyendecker, perhaps better known for his renderings of men, obviously could paint exquisite women.
Detail above, of ad below


Happy Birthday Walt Kelly!

Walt Kelly was born 96 years ago today.

Happy Birdday, as well, to Mike Kaluta! Oh, and Sean Connery!


Above and below from Songs of the Pogo



From the back cover of Pogo #11

This is a drawing I made of Kelly while sitting with a library reference file that I couldn't check out. It's from a portrait of him from the early 60s.