Seeing that Tumblr is now implementing AI scrapping onto us, I think the likelihood of my return to this blog is slim to none. I feel discouraged doing so given that I use the artworks of artists I highly respect, so contributing to AI scrapping is something that I do not want to do. I might as well wipe my entire presence about this blog, but unfortunately, the reality is that nowhere is safe anymore. All I ask for those who are still around is to protect all of your creative work. Please.
I just logged in for the first time after almost a year and... wow. Just, wow. It's honestly quite funny to see how optimistic I was to eventually come back to this blog, yet the one thing that stopped me was 2023 itself. From the beginning all the way to the end, it was one of the worst years of my life. A complete shitshow filled with traumatic events that kept happening to me. Thankfully I'm getting the help I need now, but... Jesus Christ. I can't say I'm back now, nor can guarantee a return in the future. Only time will tell, I suppose.
Apologies for my absence (+ Unfinished Yoshitaka Amano analysis)
Hello, everyone! Itâs been a while, hasnât it?
Let me turn off my professional tone for a second to apologize for my absence. Life has been pretty crazy in terms of college, health, family, and a bunch of other things that I canât explain here. I havenât gotten the time to actually sit down and focus on my blog, so thatâs why Iâve been gone for over a year.
However, I do want to come back to this blog. I really do. Iâm still brainstorming some ideas that I might consider, but they will make significant changes to what I originally intended this blog to be. These ideas are not set in stone yet, but they will remain a WIP once I make a decision.
I also figured that I might as well just post my unfinished analysis of Yoshitaka Amano, since I never came back to it (only one time I did and I just struggled with finishing it). Click on âKeep readingâ if youâre interested to read what I had so far.
Anyways, thank you all for sticking around! I really appreciate the support Iâve received ever since the start of this blog. I hope to be back soon!
As you can see from todayâs title, (I did not finish this introduction in my draft)
Yoshitaka Amano (1952) is a Japanese artist, illustrator, character designer, and a theatre/film costume designer and scenic designer.
He began his work in 1967, which was when he was introduced to the early anime movement in Japan by working in the animation department of Tatsunoko Productions. The anime adaptation of ăăăGoGoGo/Speed Racer would be his first paid project and he would eventually become a character designer for anime shows such as ăżă¤ă ăăŤăł/Time Bokan, ç§ĺŚĺżč éăŹăăăŁăăł/Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, ĺŽĺŽăŽé¨ĺŁŤăăăŤăăł/Tekkaman: The Space Knight, ć°é äşşéăăŁăˇăŁăźăł/Casshan, and ćčŤçŠčŞ ăżăŞăăăăă/The Adventures for Hutch the Honeybee.
Amano eventually left Tatsunoko Productions in 1982 and pursued a career as an independent freelance artist. During this year, he did the illustrations and cover page design for the first volume of the ăăă¤ăŠ/Chimera series, ĺšťçŁĺ°ĺš´ăăă¤ăŠ/GenjĹŤ ShĹnen Kimaira (written by Baku Yumemakura). Then in 1983, he illustrated two novels: éçé˝ĺ¸ăć°ĺŽż ă/Demon City Shinjuku and the first novel in Hideyuki Kikuchiâs ĺ¸čĄéŹź ăăłăă¤ă˘ ăăłăżăźD/Vampire Hunter D series. (He also worked as a character designer for the film adaptation of Vampire Hunter D in 1985, which was one of first anime films at the time to be released outside of Japan.)
This was when his illustrations were beginning to be published in collections such as Maten/Evil Universe in 1984. Amano also worked with Baku Yumemakura again, specifically as a character designer on the anime OVA of ă˘ă˘ăłăťăľăźăŹ/Amon Saga released in 1986 (along with a manga adaptation).
Eventually, in 1987, he joined Square (now known as Square Enix) to create a role-playing video game for the NES, which is now one of the most popular gaming franchises: Final Fantasy.
... And thatâs pretty much where I stopped writing! Again, thank you for sticking around and I hope that I will be able to make a comeback, soon.
As you can see from the title of this post, todayâs artist that I will be discussing about is a male artist who took inspiration from nature that helped create his abstract, surrealist paintings.
As you can see from the title of this post, todayâs artist that I will be discussing about is a male artist who took inspiration from nature that helped create his abstract, surrealist paintings.
Before I begin, Iâd like to thank @ravenchaser1024â for this lovely suggestion! I had an amazing time viewing and researching on this artistâs works.
Odilon Redon (1840 - 1916), was a French symbolist painter, printmaker, draughtsman and pastellist.
He began his work in the city of Paris, which was where he moved after serving in the Franco-Prussian war from 1870 to1871. Redon had worked almost exclusively in charcoal and lithography, often referring to his visionary works as his noirs. However, it was only until 1878 that his work started to gain recognition, notably with a piece called Guardian Spirit of the Waters and eventually his first published album of lithographs, titled Dans le RĂŞve, in 1879.
However, Redon continued to remain unknown until he was mentioned in the 1884 cult novel titled âĂ rebours (Against Nature)â by Joris-Karl Huysmans. The story within this novel featured a self-indulgent aristocrat who enjoyed collecting Redonâs drawings. After making an appearance in the novel, Redon eventually created a frontispiece for it, titled Des Esseintes, in 1888.
By the 1890â˛s, Redon favored pastel and oils much more than charcoal, which eventually led to him ending his production of noirs after 1900. He began to take an interest in Hindu and Buddhist religion and culture, as the figure of the Buddha frequently showed up in his work. Even influences from Japanese art blended into his pieces, which can be seen in his painting titled The Death of the Buddha in 1899, Jacob and the Angel in 1905, Vase with Japanese warrior in 1905 and The Buddha in 1906.
In 1899, Redon was commissioned by Baron Robert de Domecy to create 17 decorative panels for the dining room of the Château de Domecy-sur-le-Vault in Burgundy. With the panels for the château de Domecy being completed around 1900 to 1901, their composition displayed an interesting transition from ornamental to abstract paintings.
The details featured in the landscapes do not show any specific place, only having trees, twigs with leaves, and budding flowers being seen. Roden mostly used yellow, grey, brown and light blue colors, which was also influenced by the Japanese painting style found on byĹbu. Fifteen out of the seventeen panels are located today in the MusĂŠe d'Orsay, along with portraits of Domecyâs wife and daughter.
Redon was awarded the Legion of Honor in 1903 and his popularity continued to increase when AndrĂŠ Mellerio, a French art critic, published a catalogue of etchings and lithographs in 1913. Later that same year, he was given the opportunity visit the U.S. International Exhibition of Modern Art, in New York City, Chicago and Boston.
His career officially came to an end in 1916, where he passed away after (possibly) suffering from anxiety over his son, who was serving as a soldier in WWI. Despite this, he had a life full of success and is considered to be a precursor to the Dadaist and Surrealist movement.
Final Thoughts:
I will be honestâ Iâve never heard of Odilon Redon before. But after seeing his various pieces, I could understand why his work was beloved by many. It was just fascinating to study the amount of details he used within both his early and later works. The exploration of his dark imagination is very prominent in his charcoal lithographs, as I feel they accurately portray what nightmares look like. In his later works, the amount of pastels he used was just pleasing to the eye, making his paintings feel dreamlike. His art just helps fuel my imagination, as I felt that I gathered inspiration to create both dark and lighthearted pieces. If you are interested in any of these themes in art, then I highly recommend taking a look at more of his works.
Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read this. If you felt that I missed a few things, want to add some extra information, or just want to express your opinion on Odilon Redonâs work, I would absolutely love to hear it!
As you can see from the title of this post, todayâs artist that I will be discussing about is a female artist who gained popularity during the Golden Age of Illustration, but had since fallen into the shadows and was long forgotten.
As you can see from the title of this post, todayâs artist that I will be discussing about is a female artist who gained popularity during the Golden Age of Illustration, but had since fallen into the shadows and was long forgotten.
Nell Brinkley (1886 - 1944), was an American illustrator and comic artist who spent her nearly four-decade career working with New York newspapers and magazines.
She began her work at the age of 22, which was when she moved to New York to create illustrations for William Randolph Hearstâs syndicate. With Brinkleyâs work being featured daily in Hearstâs American Sunday magazine, her illustrations were mostly black and white with commentary underneath. There was one instance, however, where a color cover she created was featured in 1913.
Brinkley continued making her black and white illustrations until 1918, which was when Hearst made the decision to run her color covers in the now-renamed American Weekly. Of these covers, they featured a series called âGolden Eyes and Her Hero, Bill.â
With influence from silent films and patriotism of the United States during WWI, the series recounts the story of Brinkleyâs heroine, Golden Eyes, whose sweetheart, Bill, goes off to war. Bill sends over his collie, Uncle Sam, to Golden Eyes, and the two go on adventures together.
After finishing the Golden Eyes series, Brinkley followed up with âKathleen and the Great Secret.â This series ran from 1920 to 1921 in a short span of eighteen weeks. The series recounts the story of a woman named Kathleen, who rescues her kidnapped fiancĂŠ, a man that invented something similar to atomic power, from the spies who want to take his secret formula.
Then another series was created, âBetty and Billy and their Love Through the Ages,â and ran for twenty-two weeks. This series recounts the story of two lovers, Betty and Billy, gazing into a crystal ball and seeing all the former lives that theyâve spent together.
Although Brinkleyâs series were adored by many fans, her most famous and well-known creation during the 1920â˛s is the Brinkley Girl. Her intricate designs and female characters drew positive attention from readers, as they were a fresh breath of air from the Gibson Girl.
Previously established by Charles Dana Gibson, the Gibson Girl was a tall, slender woman with large hips and full bust who was also calm, poised, and sought personal fulfillment. The Brinkley Girl, however, is a young independent, feminine, and fun-loving woman who often wears lacy dresses and her hair in curls.
Her illustration, âThe Three Graces,â helped link young women with the concept of suffrage and established the Brinkley Girl character as an icon in pop culture. This piece displayed three women singing the praises of suffrage, preparedness, and Americanism with regards to loving the country.
The Brinkley Girl soon became a national sensation, as it was the topic of pop songs, poetry, and theater. There were a number of references to the Brinkley Girl in the Ziegfeld Follies, which were series of theatrical productions on Broadway, that included a song âThe Nell Brinkley Girlâ by Harry B. Smith and Maurice Levi (I added a link to the songâs music sheets if you are curious to see).
Even though Brinkley had succeeded with her outstanding skills in art, her career would start reaching towards the end. After âBetty and Billy and their Love Through the Ages,â Brinkleyâs style on her American Weekly covers shifted into more simpler comics without panels or speech bubbles. Her writing changed as well, as she began to write in simple verse. Adding to this shift, photography began replacing illustrations in newspapers and magazines by 1935, so her popularity was also declining.
Her career officially came to an end in 1944, where she died after suffering from an illness for many years. Her death went largely unnoticed due to the news of WWII, but was only mentioned once by a small press company and then never heard of again.
Final Thoughts:
As an artist myself, I instantly fell in love with Brinkleyâs illustrations the moment I saw them. Iâve actually used some of her illustrations as studies, since I adored the way she drew her charactersâ curly hair. The intricate details she added to clothing and backgrounds just made it seem so whimsical and reminiscent of the times during the early 1920â˛s. I had never seen anything like her work before, so this was much of a breath-taking surprise for me. Her art just gives me a huge boost of creativity, as some of my own pieces were inspired by a few of her illustrations. This is why I believe that she should be recognized more, as it is possible that current artists have gained huge inspiration from her as well. If anything, I would absolutely recommend anyone who enjoys light and delicate illustrations to take a look at the rest of her works.
Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read this. If you felt I missed a few things, want to add some extra information, or just want to express your opinion on Nell Brinkleyâs work, I would absolutely love to hear it!
