Illustration Art
(collection of illustration art on a variety of subjects)
"The secret to so many artists living so long is that every painting is a new adventure. So, you see, they're always looking ahead to something new and exciting. The secret is not to look back."
Norman Rockwell
"I'll never have enough time to paint all the pictures I'd like to."
Norman Rockwell
"Whether I'm painting or not, I have this overweening interest in humanity. Even if I'm not working, I'm still analyzing people."
Alice Neel
Just as Norman Rockwell I've always felt more like an illustrator as opposed to an artist. Like a spy, I've spent my childhood secretly examining and memorizing everything that was going on around me in order to transfer my observations onto paper later on. I turned my mind into a library of facial expressions, fabric patterns and ephemeral gestures that I drew upon when painting my genre scenes.
I always liked painting scenes that featured a lot of people. I came up with stories about every person that I would paint and I still do. As someone who grew up admiring Herluf Bidstrup I wanted to do more than just depicting one moment in somebody's life. I had to know what happened to that person a moment before I captured them in my drawing, I needed to know what will happen to him five minutes later and I had to know his full life story.
As the youngest member of a busy household I had to keep myself entertained and painting allowed me to accomplish that task rather well. I've never known boredom and I still cherish every moment I can spent painting all the characters that dwell in my memories and my mind. When I paint I feel like I turn into O. Henry of illustrators. The characters I create come alive and take me on awesome journeys across the world and time.
*The diptych above is called "Adam and Eve from the 1920's" (watercolor on paper, 4X12, 2008)
