Thursday, June 05, 2014

Preview: illustrators #7 featuring Alan Lee, Bernie Fuchs, John Vernon Lord... and me!

By guest author Peter Richardson.

Working on a publication like illustrators is a dream job. Yes, there is a hell of a lot of work that goes into each issue, the bulk of which is never seen by our readers, but the subject matter and the enthusiasm it generates is the primary dynamic which keeps us going.

EditorialTeamRevised
(Above: the mad geniuses who bring you every issue of illustrators magazine, sketched with uncanny accuracy by editor Peter Richardson)

The recently published seventh issue of illustrators is no exception.

Issue07Cover

We were very lucky to secure the agreement and co-operation of Oscar winning illustrator, Alan Lee to run as our lead feature, and we have what I believe is the biggest retrospective of his fabulous artwork yet assembled.

Issue07AlanLee01

To a lot of the public, he is best known for his work on Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations of J.R. Tolkein’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Hobbit’ books, but it was the publication of ‘Faeries’ in 1977 which he collaborated on with fellow fantasy artist Brian Froud in 1977 which first brought his work to a wider audience.

Issue07AlanLee02

We had long considered the possibility of running a feature on Alan’s work, I had been a fan of his illustration since first seeing some of the fabulous paperback covers he created for ghost story anthologies in the late 1970s.

Issue07AlanLee02detail

His work, in an era when photo referenced artwork dominated the paperback market, was refreshingly direct, with echoes of Edmund Dulac, Arthur Rackham and William Russell Flint. When he collaborated with Brian Froud, another of my favourite fantasy illustrators, to create the ‘Faeries’ bestiary, I was totally in his thrall and followed his career with avid interest, through his exquisite illustrations for books such as ‘Castles’ and ‘Black Ships Before Troy’, to his most recent work for Peter Jackson.

Issue07AlanLee03

It was this work that was dominating Alan’s schedule when we first made contact, and even his return trip to Devon from New Zealand was delayed by several weeks; such was the pressure he was working under.

Issue07AlanLee03detail

It was therefore really generous of Alan that when he did return to Devon, shortly before Christmas, he took time away from his holiday to scan a pile of artwork for our feature. As a result of Alan’s assistance, we have been able to delve much deeper into the past career of this amazing artist and the feature includes scans of original paintings for ‘The Fontana Ghost Stories’ collections and other paperback covers...

Issue07AlanLee04

... as well as many scans of incredible original artwork for ‘The Mabinogion’, one of the finest collections of fantasy art ever published and the precursor to much of the work that he was to create for Peter Jackson.

Issue07AlanLee05

We also look at the maritime paintings by the late, great Bernie Fuchs. Penned by Bryn Havord, the artwork featured has remained largely unseen, save by those lucky enough to see them on the cruise liners, which many of them adorn.

Issue07Fuchs01

Bryn had unparalleled access to some incredible images of Bernie’s work and we are very privileged to be able to share them with you.

Issue07Fuchs02

Adding to the mix, is the fascinating and mesmerically obsessive illustration of John Vernon Lord.

Issue07JohnVLord01

John has balanced the career of one of this country’s most gifted teachers (I should know—I was privileged enough to be one of his tutees) with a long and still thriving career as a unique and wonderfully idiosyncratic illustrator.

Issue07JohnVLord02

His work includes a string of successful and award winning picture books, along with illustrations to Lewis Carroll’s, ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ and ‘Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There’ as well as recent projects such as ‘The Hunting of the Snark’ and his self-penned and hugely informative book, ‘Drawn to Drawing’.

Issue07JohnVLord03

We also (and sparing his blushes) take a look at the work of Leif Peng, another artist who has managed to successfully combine a career as a highly talented and versatile illustrator, with that of an educator in the subject.

Issue07LeifPeng01

He currently holds a professorship at Mohawk College where he shares his passion and knowledge of illustration with those students lucky enough to attend his classes and to a wider audience via this blog and it’s Facebook iteration.

Issue07LeifPeng02

Rounding off the galaxy of assembled artists we look at the fabulous books devoted to the incredible artistry of Mark English, whose work continues to develop and evolve as an on-going testimony to the rugged individuality of it’s creator.

Issue07MarkEnglish01

illustrators Quarterly magazine can be ordered from The Book Palace and from Bud Plant's Art Books in the United States.

33 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this wonderful shop window Leif. I can barely see through the tears of joy to type this message.

    ReplyDelete
  2. very good post
    thank you !!
    We are the Top interior designers in Hyderabad, We plan to make your home the best place to live that reflect your style with our experience and aesthetic sense to make your home interiors the best place.We are the Best interior designing company in Hyderabad. We use advanced technology of 3ds max software for your home interior designing that offer more perfection in our work. We never compromise with quality and customer happiness is our succes, and we always try our best when it comes to interiors.

    Visit Us: https://www.icraftdesignz.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Are you writing an essay about love? Do not forget to examine these tips. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for Sharing . Do you want best room heaters room heater

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks Thomas sharing infromation .you are shaing information I am bloger we are providing best latest information best DSLR cameras

    ReplyDelete
  6. illustrators #7 featuring Alan Lee, Bernie Fuchs, John Vernon Lord... and me! Nice story . do you wantbest DSLR cameras

    ReplyDelete
  7. See men balding females will get it as well a small percentage have immune-mediated hair loss and scarring hair loss we do a lot to try and screen those patients and treat then in other ways because they can't be candidates for this procedure well FUE is an extraction of a follicle unit one by one it involves careful aiming of the device at the unit and extraction.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for sharing us latest information just go through on this website you will get more details Hair Transplant Cost in Delhi
    Thanks for sharing us wonderful blog Best Anti Aging Treatment in South Delhi

    ReplyDelete
  9. Glad to see this post, it is very interesting website i can say tattoo removal in delhi

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for sharing us your great thoughts, visit for best services of FUE Hair Transplant in South Delhi

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for share really very nice aarticle i like your blog too much
    custom mylar bags
    E-Commerce Diversify
    Roofing company

    ReplyDelete

  12. En yeni çıkan turk sex videolarına erişmek için türk porno sitesinde bulunan ifşa pornolarını kesintisiz izleme şansını bulabilirsiniz

    ReplyDelete
  13. Buy onlinepharmaceuticalmeds.com
    https://onlinepharmaceuticalmeds.com/
    https://onlinepharmaceuticalmeds.com/shop-2/
    ??Fast stealth Secure & Discreet delivery
    contact:
    Wickr: Dillandday
    Telegram : @Mr_Nular

    ReplyDelete
  14. AOMEI Backupper Crack is an easy-to-use backup and recovery software, free for home users and commercial use, fully protects your computer from data loss.
    Apowersoft ApowerMirror Crack
    DU Meter Crack

    ReplyDelete
  15. Banyak sekali situs pkv yang bermunculan saat ini, mulai dari situs situs yang lama sampai dengan situs situs yang baru, di situs pkv teman temman cukup daftar 1 id bisa untuk bermain 9 permainan dalam satu server, bermain dengan beda situs, dalam 1 id ada permainan poker online, dominoqq, capsa susun , aduqq, bandarq, bandarpoker dll. sistem deposit dan pendaftaran sangat mudah, setelah teman teman deposit teman teman bisa langsung bermain untuk deposit bisa menggunakan pulsa online jadi sangat simple bukan. murni player vs player admin tidak di perbolehkan bermain, keamanan dan kenyamanan adalah prioritas kami. agen dominoqq online deposit pulsa kam sudah kumpulkan beberapa situs pkv yg terpercaya dalam satu web ini teman teman bisa cek di list situs pkv di bawah ini. daftar dan login situs pkv online serta link alternatif resmi

    ReplyDelete



  16. Hi there mates, how is all, and what you would like to say concerning this
    article, in my view its truly awesome in favor of me.

    Click here to chceck my blog :: 안마
    (jk)

    ReplyDelete