Life without Fantasy?

What would life be without fantasy? It would be a textbook.

Charles Courtney Curran — circa early xxth century

Monochromatic Green

This is one of those paintings that inspires the 'What th'--!!' segment of my imagination. Not your Thomas Moran landscape. Monochromatic green, wow.

 Gustav Wentzel

Lovingly Immortalized

A  beautiful low chroma portrait painting of Mme Mucha, lovingly immortalized by Alphonse Mucha.

A Deeper Level of Explanation

Thoughtful, balanced words of a foremost scientist.

Image of the Abell Cluster of Galaxies

Attractive Allegory

Dedicated to all my painter friends—a very attractive Allegory of Painting. Remember, fat over lean . . .  or is it . . . whatever.

Paolo Veronese — Allegory of Painting — 1560s

Update: after looking at this published post, I realized some people would think that I was referring to the subject when I talked of fat over lean. I was not. "Fat over Lean" was and is a technique term in handling of paint on a canvas, directed toward painters. I was being flip here because that's a basic lesson for artists. I love the statuesque figure of the woman here. Like I said, a very attractive subject. 

FYI, I NEVER intend to make seemingly negative judgements about anyone's appearance. I know I'm going overboard in explanation here, but oh-Lord-please-don't-let-me-be-misunderstood.

Fantasy Narrative

I'm starting to cross-post some images between here and Facebook, thinking people may be of two different audiences, with a little overlap. This way the images may reach more people than the blog alone, which is kind of the point of doing this sharing stuff.

This painting is sort of remarkable for it's time of approximately 1880 by Carl Spitzweg, showing fantasy in a narrative form (there's a specific character-driven story going on here).

Carl Spitzweg — fantasy painting — circa 1880?

Delineated Life

Even before 'officially' publishing the first issue of Pictorial Arts Journal, we're nailing down the first sub-publication 'imprint' of the Journal, called Delineated Life, which will publish intermittently with the main Journal. Its purpose is to showcase one artist and their work per issue. Sometimes it will be a classic master from long ago, and sometimes a current, contemporary, right now artist.

The first issue of Delineated Life is dedicated to the cartoon mastery of Walt Kelly, a natural, timing-wise, to tie in with his 100th birthday (even though he left us 40 years ago).  The online publishing date is August 25 (Kelly's birthday) and I'm working round the clock to pull it together, as well as officially publish the Journal itself. And, oh yeah, I'm not making any money from this (yet) so I have to keep plugging at my deadlines as well. Poor me — hah! I love where these publications are heading, and sooner or later I should be able to collaborate with artists and writers and layout artists and other creatives, so that it's not just me having so much fun!

This is the cover, as it stands now, and there will be many wonderful interior pages that will explore the Whirled of Kelly.

I'm still casting out a call to any professional cartoonist or animator to contribute a tribute drawing jpeg, demonstrating what Kelly and his work has meant to you, personally and/or professionally. We need jpegs by the week of August 4, but hopefully sooner. And it would really be helpful for you to send over an email even earlier to let us know you're planning on doing one. Of course we know how life gets in the way of things like this, so it's not like you HAVE to do a tribute, even though you intended to. But heck, even a simple sentence or two will suffice if you don't have time to whip up a drawing or doodle. Each person who contributes some sort of sentiment can have a bio-blurb and website link next to their piece. C'mon, I know there are so many pros out there that admire Kelly's legacy. Join us in this 'time capsule'.

Where is She Now?

This is from the cover of a sweet card I received from a girlfriend in the 1970s, postmarked Sausalito. Where is she now, I wonder . . .

Johnny Gruelle — circa 1915

A Fine Day in Atlantis

I've lost track of who the artist is here, but this lovely illustrative vision of a fine day in Atlantis seems directly ancestral to Greece.

Update: The artist is Lloyd K. Townsend, 

with thanks to Breezmeister!

Wind-Swept

Can't you just hear the snap and crackle of fabric whipping in the wind? Such is the power of visualization.

Marianne H.W. Robilliard

 Draped Female Figure on a Wind-Swept Sea-Shore — circa 1906

Re: Bop

This is a toe-tapping bebop rebop retro-retro style drawing that I promised to post a long time ago. I don't break my promises, I just sort of misplace them for a while.

This is by Jim Engel from the 1982 Bop Magazine #1, intro page. Jim, I didn't know you've been around that long, you must've been 2 when you drew this.

Old Dead White Guy with a Beard

This is a portrait of a professor of the old school (literally!). It's the sort of portrait you can imagine hanging in a dark musty hallway, or top of the staircase of a seemingly ancient place of higher education. As a student I might have casually dismissed this guy as just one more 'old dead white guy with a beard'.

Now, as an old white guy with a beard myself, not yet dead thank you, I see this fellow's personality with great clarity and admiration. His face is one of quiet good humor, intelligence and a love for his field of study. This is a professor that I would gladly have studied under, whatever his field was.

Sir George Reid —Professor George Downing Liveing — circa 1913

Wow Factor

Bob Lubbers was one of the great cartooning penman of his generation, yet I haven't seen much of his strip work reprinted. In this Tarzan strip he displays a 'wow factor', like unto Foster and Hogarth.

Bob Lubbers — Tarzan Sunday — 1951

Spirit of Delight

Don't give up on this blog, just been busy. Great stuff yet to come.

Meanwhile, look, 'frigerator magnet! Straight off the fridge, just 'cause it is delightful in its own small way. Now I gotta go put it back before the fam misses it.

Sacred

I love sacred pools, groves and grottos . . .

© Gilbert Williams — The Offering

Make Themselves at Home

I received a really nice email from Michael McC, who recently discovered the beautiful work of Golden Age great John Bauer. Michael noticed I didn't have any posts with him listed and thought he would be at home on this blog. Well, I'm certainly aware of Bauer and greatly admire his work, I just didn't want to compete with Mr. Door Tree's site where he has shown a slew of Bauer's work here.

But to honor Michael's opinion, I've opened the door and invited a couple of Bauer's pieces to make themselves at home.

Thanks for thinking of this blog, Michael!

 John Bauer — Freja

John Bauer — Winter Tales About the Yule Goat — 1912

Once Upon a High Place

You never know what you may see once upon a high place . . .

Kees Van Dongen — Tango of the Archangel — circa 1930

Two Versions and a Sketch

This is a pretty powerful composition that seems almost Frazetta-like in its sweep and execution, even though it was painted nearly a hundred years before the fantasy master. It was interesting to find two versions and a sketch and assemble them together here.

Évariste Vital Luminais — Flight of King Gradlon — circa 1884

 Luminais

Luminais

They've Got Pictures in Them? Oo!

Somewhere in this little graphic fable is a lesson to learn well. Choose it wisely. This fellow chose . . . poorly.

©1983 Joost Swarte — Complete Your Collection 

Golden Dream

My posts are a little spotty lately because I've been spending so much time on the new Pictorial Arts Journal that will soon be rolling out its premier prototype. I will be posting about the Journal soon, and looking for a little advice about website formatting. 

In the meantime I'll keep posting when I can, such as this dreamy (literally) image from the Golden Age of Illustration.

Jessie M. King — Love's Golden Dream — 1913

Mysterious and Strangely Inviting

Bertha Lum — Goblin Dance

Curatives for the Soul

Can't you just feel the gentle warmth, the fragrant breeze, the peace and tranquility? Meditating on infused images like this can be curatives for the soul.

Harold Knight — The Morning Sun — circa 1912

Magnificent Big Cat

A magnificent portrait of a magnificent big cat . . .

Jack Murray — The Saturday Evening Post — August 29, 1931

The Wizard Prince of Arabia — WOW

I'm not really fond of circuses as we generally know them, with clowns and acrobats and such. But  THE WIZARDRY, WONDERS & MAGIC of THE ORIENT in A NEW WORDLESS PLAY of OPULENT GRANDEUR, with 1250 Actors and Actresses, 300 Dancing Girls, 350 Persons Playing Musical Intruments, 250 Singers in Weird Oriental Choruses and 3250 Costly Costumes is gonna pique my interest and I'll be back to see this show every day it's in town, you betcha!

Barnum & Bailey — The Wizard Prince of Arabia — 1914

Faraway Places

Yes boys, even girls have dreams of adventure in faraway places . . .

The American Girl — November 1930

Ever Fabulous

Here's another one of those seldom seen preliminary studies by the ever fabulous Mucha from the ever fabulous Art Nouveau period.

Alphonse Mucha — preliminary study for an illustration — 1898

Lovely Texture

There is a lovely texture to this landscape image . . .

Ludwig Jungnickel — stencil landscape — circa 1905

Poetic but Fearsome

 The last post showed a late 19th century vision of a young faun. Here is a an early 21st century vision of a mature faun, of course from Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. Fauns are poetic but fearsome (unpredictable) creatures.

Doug Jones as the Faun — Pan's Labyrinth — 2006

Der Fliegenfänger

I'm posting this image of an interesting sculpture if nothing more than because I like typing and saying its name, and interestingly enough seems to translate as 'The Flypaper'.

Karl Seffner — Der Fliegenfänger — circa 1898

Don't Let Yourself Be Trapped

Women, don't let yourself be trapped into a relationship with a pig, no matter how handsome or charming he may be . . .

Wilhelm Volz — 1902

Wonderfullly Soft, Strictly Natural

I have a deep thirst.

Noyer — Source Brault — 1938

Special Representative

Mike Deodato — Wonder Woman — © DC Comics

Thank you Diana, your help would be most welcome!

Wunderhorn

This boy is having entirely too much fun with his magical horn.

after Moritz von Schwind — Des Knaben Wunderhorn — 1879

Moms the Word

This is late on the date, but I'm not going to wait a year to post this sweet drawing by Picasso, back when he drew recognizable people. 

Happy Mother's Day to all you great moms and Mr. moms.

Pablo Picasso — Mother and Child

Dragon-Fly

This pose is a tiny bit like arcadian artist Larry MacDougall might do, but Larry's rendering would be 40 jillion times better.

Nicole-August Laurens — Dragon-Fly — 1889

Les Graces Enseignant

Okay children, now pay attention to your teachers . . . 

Frorent — The Graces Teaching — 1883

Belated Lament

A (slightly) belated lament for the passing of Ray Harryhausen, seen here stop-motion animating Mighty Joe Young in 1949.

Diamond's Are Forever

The other night, we watched a new DVD of an old Bond flick, Diamonds are Forever. We could hardly get through it — it being slow-paced, boring and poorly acted. Oh we loved Sean Connery alright, but we've been spoiled by modern action movie-making that is superbly timed and paced. I guess it was Lucas and Spielberg that set the bar for action. As a kid I was enthralled with the Connery Bond movies, but now it's the Daniel Craig Bond movies that I enjoy (though Connery will always be THE 'Bond, James Bond' for me).

Diamonds are Forever — poster

Yummy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALL YOU TAURUS PEOPLE!

For what it's worth, here is a shot of a portion of my deep sea fish birthday cake. We'd already eaten part of the tales and fins, because they were a little wobbly. Even working day and night shifts at two jobs, my daughter still wanted to make this cake for me—and it tastes even better than it looks! And my wife made a lovely real fish dinner, even though I'm not a Pisces.

I'm a lucky lucky guy to have a wife and daughter like I do.

A yummy birthday!

'Appendectomy' . . . Right

What the heck. I'm gonna post this pic every year on this date . . .

Her "supposed" appendectomy . . .

UPDATE:

I'm sorry folks, I guess I should have done this on April Fool's Day, except then it wouldn't have made any sense at all, at least to me.

I received a nice email from a person who was concerned about the 'facts', as he uses MM's appendectomy as part of his medical lectures. This is part of the note I sent back to him:

I'm sorry for any confusion. It was a stupid conceit on my part. 

Several years ago I posted this picture with a tongue in cheek reference that "MM and I were in a hospital on the same day. She was getting her appendix removed, and I was being born. Coincidence? You decide", kind of thing. Cuz, well, that WAS the day I was born.

My blog takes flights of fancy here and there, and with this post I was hoping to amuse people who were in the know. 

Sorry for the Delineated conceit. In fact, I'm going to use the very words above as a disclaimer on the post.

Corresponding from Another Dimension

Ah, 1972. I was in the Army, but had lots of down time, hanging out with my hippy friends, some of them in the Army too. It's not just long hair that makes a hippy. It's an attitude, and so many of my Army buddies were drafted (forced) into the armed forces and there was just as much dope and stuff in the military as out. 

For short breaks, the underground comics were our readings of choice, and several of us artsy types tried our hand at drawing the underground style. Dave Sheridan and Fred Schrier were our idols for that kind of work. Crumb was good, but seemed a bit brown shoe for our efforts to emulate. Shelton was good too, but didn't seem stoned enough, maybe he seemed too vaudevillian and slapstick. 

Whereas Sheridan and Schrier seemed like they were corresponding from another dimension. Here, Sheridan has drawn some phunny money that was used for promotional handouts, and in a pinch could be used to roll your own smokes, this one surviving somehow.

 Above and below, Dave Sheridan's front and back of the phunny money.

Unique Personalities

I love these sorts of photo portraits, and by that, I guess I mean of unique personalities confidently showing their eccentricities and connecting through the camera lens to us folks in the far future.

photo by d'Ora of the artist Tsuguharu Foujita — 1928

Spirit of the Garden

We've had some more snow hereabouts, but gardening is on our minds (with some of our earlier planting gone to frozen hell). 

This is a painting called The Spirit of the Garden, which doesn't look very green and seems a bit off-topic to its title, but can maybe still raise our spirits a bit.

Robert Lewis Reid — The Spirit of the Garden

And This is How You Travel There . . .

Witold Pruszkowski

This is a Rest Stop on the Way Home

© Gilbert Williams — Portal of the Pleiades