Gurney Journey

Al Dorne Special in Illustration Magazine

Published: November 18, 2022 | 08:45

Illustrator Albert Dorne is the subject of an entire special issue of Illustration Magazine. Dorne founded the Famous Artists School and worked for decades in the lucrative field of advertising illustration.

Dorne was also a major influence on the artists for Mad Magazine, such as Jack Davis.

The 80-page issue includes a detailed biography, richly illustrated with dozens of examples of his artwork.

Illustration Magazine Special on Al Dorne

80 pages, 8.5 x 11, perfect bound, printed in full color.

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Cream of Wheat Ad Art

Published: August 18, 2022 | 09:56

Nabisco hired the best illustrators in the early 20th century to create a warm feeling about their Cream of Wheat cereal products.

Many artists of the Golden Age of Illustration as N.C. Wyeth (top), Haddon Sundblom (above), and Jessie Wilcox Smith, contributed work to Nabisco's advertising efforts.

A cache of over 500 drawings and paintings were discovered, locked in metal storage cabinets at the old company headquarters. Long believed lost, these prime examples of advertising art were a surprise to illustration historians.

Notes accompanying the records revealed that the agency fee paid to the artist typically ranged from $200 to $1,000.

Examples of Cream of Wheat Advertising Art on website Period Paper

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Collaborating on a Glamour Illustration

Published: August 15, 2022 | 11:19

Fritz Willis and Joe DeMers were two young artists who collaborated in an interesting way.

In 1946, they were picked by Esquire magazine to create the inaugural illustration for a new feature called "Esquire Gallery of Glamour."

They decided to work together on it and to sign both their names to the result. According to a 1951 newspaper article quoted in Illustration magazine:

"They worked closely together, Joe sketching the left eyelid, Fritz the blue in the white eyeball, Joe the left toe, and Fritz the fourth one. Or they might each work on a complete section. DeMers himself explained one cooperative effort: 'Fritz took the arms. I took the face, then he did the feet and I painted the legs.'"

The new issue of Illustration includes a big article on Fritz Willis, famous for his brilliant pin-ups. It also features paperback cover illustrator Raymond Johnson, with an extensive biography and showcase of his work, plus an academic article called "The Delineation of Desire in 1920s Commercial Illustration."

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It's Hard to Classify Will T. Bradley

Published: August 04, 2022 | 07:53

Will T. Bradley (1868-1962) was the highest paid American artist in the early 20th century*, but don't feel bad if you haven't heard of him.

At a time when magazines were the chief vehicle of cultural expression, Bradley was a prolific and noteworthy cover artist.

His style featured simple shapes, smooth lines, and large areas of flat colors, which lent itself not only to covers, but also to posters.

When he wanted to, he could draw in a more ornate pen-and-ink style, influenced by Aubrey Beardsley and Alphonse Mucha.

Bradley was a type designer he created the original version of what is now known as Bradley DJR (designed by David Jonathan Ross.) And he was also an art director for Hearst films.

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*More about Will T. Bradley at Wikipedia

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Raymond de la Nézière, Animal Artist

Published: July 26, 2022 | 16:20

Raymond de la Nézière (1865-1953) was a French illustrator and comic artist with a gift for capturing expressive poses in animal caricature.

He began drawing and painting from a young age, encouraged by his mother, who was a painter and potter.

In his early years he painted in oil and then began using more gouache and watercolor.

He illustrated many books and sketched all sorts of animals, sometimes in naturalistic poses, and sometimes anthroporphized as human types.

He also participated as a hunter and a horseback rider.

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Donald Teague's Procedure

Published: June 01, 2022 | 10:30

Illustrator Donald Teague (1897-1991) was known for his adventure illustrations. His process began with small pencil compositions.

According to Ernest Watson, "He may make up a score, fifty or even more of these before he takes up his brush for color studies—these also at small scale. 'There is nothing I can add to this,' Teague said."

"'The preliminary sketches are just blood and sweat.' After he has produced a satisfactory color comprehensive, he goes out on location to sketch from models which he poses as they are to appear in the composition. There may be a dozen horses, three or four figures, and a vehicle or two in the picture. All will be sketched in pencil and afterward."

After that the sketches are projected on a sheet of watercolor paper. The pencil lines are finalized without resorting to an eraser, which could introduce unwanted oils. He then produces the final illustration in watercolor or gouache.

Teague also traveled and sketched from observation with his watercolor set.

Quotes are from the book Forty Illustrators and How They Work

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The Horse Pictures of Eduard Thöny

Published: May 25, 2022 | 13:55

Eduard Thöny (1866-1950) was known for his excellent draftsmanship.

He loved to include equestrian subjects and often put his horses in dramatic action poses.

In 1890 he visited Paris to study the historical paintings of equestrian specialist Edouard Detaille.

Die allerhöchste Auszeichnung für Künstler (The Highest Award for Artists)

In 1899 he made an incisive caricature of the famous artists Anton von Werner and Adolph von Menzel).

See more examples of Eduard Thöny on Wikimedia Commons. (1866-1950)

Previous post on Eduard Thony's Caricatures

Detailed German Wikipedia entry about Eduard Thöny.

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Gerber Baby Art

Published: April 22, 2022 | 10:36

The Gerber baby food company is still using simple charcoal drawing that was produced almost a hundred years ago.

The company's website says: "In 1928, Gerber held a contest to find a face to represent a baby food advertising campaign. Artist Dorothy Hope Smith entered her simple charcoal sketch of a tousle-haired, bright-eyed cherub of a baby with endearing pursed lips. In her entry, Smith noted that she would finish the sketch if she won.

"Her drawing competed with elaborate oil paintings, but the judges fell in love with the baby face Smith drew, and when they chose it as the winner, they insisted that the simple illustration remain a sketch. The image of this happy, healthy baby was soon to become the face that launched a brand, a face recognized and loved across the globe."

"Indeed, the illustration became so popular that Gerber adopted it as its official trademark in 1931. Since then, the Gerber Baby has appeared on all Gerber packaging and in every Gerber advertisement."

Read more at the Gerber baby food website

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Animal Fable Illustrations by E.M. Rachev

Published: February 06, 2022 | 09:48

Evgenii (or Yevgeny) Rachev (1906-1997) was an illustrator best known for his images of animal fables from Russian folk tales.

Postcards based on Russian folk tales, 1960, E.M. Rachev.

He used animal characters to tell his stories, but of course the allegories were really about human foibles.

He said: "If my birds and animals help you to fathom that the story is actually about people it means that I reached the same effect as the folk tales did."

He grew up with his grandparents in Siberia. According to an online bio:

"He remembered Siberia as a fantastic land. Black grouses sitting pompously on fir branches in the evenings... Fish and wild ducks swarming the lakes... No end to mushrooms and berries in summer... But when the boy was 14 years old his grandmother died. He decided to go to his mother who at that time lived in Novorosiisk. It took him three months to get there through Russia ravaged by the revolution."

As a side hobby he collected interesting shapes of tree roots, which he sculpted into animal shapes.

His wife Lidya Ivanovna Racheva collaborated with him by compiling stories, researching costumes, and writing texts.

His books are beloved in Russian and French editions, and there is at least one book of his folk tales available in English.

Website with bio in English

Wikipedia page

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Brock's Paris Sketchbook

Published: November 22, 2021 | 10:34

C.E. Brock, pen & ink, 8" x 8" (215mm x 205mm), 1902

Charles E. Brock was an English illustrator who produced a series of illustrations for William Makepeace Thackeray's A Paris Sketchbook.

The Paris Sketchbook was based on Thackeray's travels to France after the Revolution, and it contains the author's dry wit and insights about both French and English characters from the era.

To do the illustrations, Brock needed authentic costumes and props from about 70 years earlier.

Brock was one of several brothers who worked together on illustrations. According to a bio on BookPalace, "He and his brothers maintained a Cambridge studio filled with various curios, antiques, furniture, and a costume collection."

"They owned a large collection of Regency era costume prints and fashion plates, and had clothes specially made as examples for certain costumes. Using these, family members would model for each other."