This first exercise was initially daunting. It's been some time since I interrogated things in an academic way and I really wasn't sure if I could do it. I also felt discomfort balancing the time it needs to research, and analyse versus getting on with the practical aspects of the exercise.
For this exercise I needed to select an illustrator from a list of illustrators from 50-60 years ago, and then select my own choice of modern illustrator that I like/admire. I selected John Milton after doing some brief research on all of the options. There was something about the work that called to me.
John Minton (1917 - 1957)
John Minton was an artist, illustrator and set-designer. His love for the theatre started at an early age. He was part of Reading School's Dramatic Society, and would act often. It was while at school that his love and talent for art and creativity was first nurtured. Over his career Minton spent time travelling and was noted for his prolific output.
I tried to look at a number of pieces to get a sense of how his style changed over time.
Whilst he is best known as an illustrator, Minton was a skilled portrait artist. I focused mostly on his other work, and was particularly drawn to his work after the Second World War. That period seems to have influenced his approach and choice of subjects.
Minton had an amazing use of colour. This piece uses oil on canvas. I really like how he uses the paint in different thickness to produce different textures. Minton is often referred as a neo-romantic painter, with an almost abstract interpretation of the landscape. Despite the use of colour, there is a definite sombre tone to the piece, almost grungy in places. It has a definite sense of place, which is true of all the pieces I have seen from Minton. I particularly like the use of shadow in this painting. The lack of people in the composition creates an uneasy feeling of anticipation, which reminded me of work by Edward Hopper. I also like the use of shapes, almost put together like a collage to create a final image.
In this next image there is, again, a sense of melancholy. I particularly like the deft and simply use of ink for the night sky. It feels more like a blanket, smothering and creating a sense of claustrophobia despite the open square. What seems odd is the light and show in the piece. The moon is very obvious in the background, yet the strongest shadows come from a light source that is off to the left of the paper. Minton uses simple ink washes to great effect here, and I really like how not all shadows are equal.
The shadow case by the building on the left has a transparency which suggests some other sense of light, perhaps a soft luminescence coming from the moon? The subject of this work are barracks. Like the London Docklands above, there is a tie to the aftermath of war. An eeriness that gives me a distinct feeling of aftermath: the effects of war that are left behind. There is a beautiful stillness to it. It almost has a sense of reportage illustration. There is a timelessness about the approach, and would not look out of place in the sketchbook of a more modern artist like Danny Gregory.
A little later, Minton was to travel with Alan Ross to Corsica, their travels paid for by their publisher. The trip would result in "Time Was Away: A Notebook in Corsica by Alan Ross and John Minton"
The image above is fantastic, I love it. It could almost be an illustration from a modern reprint of a Tolkein novel. The mountains and clouds seem like they have been done in just one pen-stroke each, like a blind contour drawing done to perfection. There is a simple use of hatching to shade the mountains. I find the vertical lines interesting, especially compared to more contoured hatching that can be seen in the mid and foreground. The vertical lines give a sense of height to the mountains, and tie them all together. It's like they are saying "we are here, we are the background".
It is striking that this work doesn't seem old-fashioned. It actually looks more in keeping with a sketch from a concept artist as part of a world-building exercise. The lines are clean. Variation in weight , control and shape adds so much variation, I am very envious of his ability to know when to use hatching, when to leave space clear and when to add a line or shape to depict just the right suggestion of form.
Jonathan Edwards
I have a definite man-crush on the work of Jonathan Edwards at the moment. I only discovered his work recently and find it captivating, challenging and beautiful.
He manages to get a sense of reality, but does so in a very abstract way, using shapes together to elicit form. My eyes jump between the flatness of the shapes, and the depth that created when they come together.
This particular piece also has a surreal aspect with the figures walking in the background. This is something very different to Milton, but I find it fun. I am really envious of Jonathan's ability to wield values with great skill.
Jonathan also has a similar lust for travel that Milton seemed to have. He has produced a lot of work in both sketchbook studies and larger pieces.
Like Milton, I am attracted to the use of colour. His work doesn't have the same sense of melancholy found in Milton's work, but I think this piece does have a distinct sense of place and anticipation. The absence of human figures creates a tension.
Even though this work is in colour, the use of values is still amazing. Jonathan is able to have a huge variety in the colours he uses in each section, yet get the overall values spot on, so everything fits into place.
I liked this painting so much that I bought a print of it when I visited Jonathan's stall at the Thought Bubble Festival this year. I think it does evoke a kind of neo-romantic feeling, it's relationship to the landscape is calm and wistful, but of course executed in an abstract way. I like the composition and the simple but effective use of shadow on the lighthouse. I think there is a much more subtle use of shadow on the mid-ground grass and rocks - Jonathan seems to employ more and more darker greens and browns in the mosaic of shapes, capturing the lack of light in the lee of the island.
All of Jonathan's pieces are watercolour on paper. When I had the chance to speak to him he talked to me about his love for traditional media - to have the feeling of brush on paper. I really enjoy using traditional media too, so it's refreshing to see a contemporary illustrator using traditional methods and still making commercially successful work. I especially like his ability to get rich vibrant colours out of normal watercolour paints, when often gouache is used by illustrators to try and get those effects. I would like to try to see if I can evoke that same sense of saturated colour.
I am also drawn to the shapes and shading of his work, and I plan to ask my tutor about other artists and illustrators that I could look at for similar examples.
Recreating the styles of the illustrators
John Minton
I took time to understand the process that went into creating the selected image, and tried myself to replicate some aspects. I tried to practice seeing and letting the pen move as I saw different aspects, a bit like when I practice blind contour drawing. I was particularly interested in how some of the texture might have been created - or at least how I might get a similar effect.
In the end it seemed like using a graphite pencil was the best way to capture the tooth of the paper, and get the effect that I was going for.
Once happy with the process enough to give it a go myself, I got started replicating the style using my own subject.
I took this photo when on a walk with my son some months ago. I think it suited the melancholic subject matter I was looking for, and it has some interesting perspective, colours and shadows to capture in the two different illustrations.
I kept the pen work quite loose, and didn't use any pencil work underneath, I used a graphite stick to add texture to the path on the left of the paper. I then set about using ink washes to add depth and shading.
This is the finished work. I am happy with the outcome, and think it captures the melancholic and ominous feeling I was going for. I am also quite happy with how I used the values of the ink. I think, in retrospect that I could have used more hatching to add, or add to, shadows..
Jonathan Edwards
Again, I studied some examples of Edwards's work to try and break down how he works with watercolour. I was able to find a video on Vimeo that captured some of his process, so I got to understand how he uses pencil outlines to compose the piece and break down the large areas. I noted on lots of pieces how he uses glazes to add or bisect shapes on the page, creating spaces that are not included in the pencil drawing. I tried to remember that when doing my version.
I am happy with the result, even if it doesn't have the same kind of vibrancy. I found it a lot hard to get the values right when using small blocks of saturated colour, and I am not happy with the roof-line, whose shapes are not distinct enough using the colours I chose. Some of the colours are too unsaturated, and some seem muddy in areas. I think this was me rushing to finish the piece, and not taking enough time to let players dry fully before adding richness and saturation through layered glazes. It was very freeing to abstract things and make choices based on what I felt was right, I would like to explore how I could add more abstract thinking into my work.
Bibliography
Cumming, L. (2017). John Minton: A Centenary review – a wildly restless talent. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jul/02/john-minton-centenary-pallant-house-chichester-review.
Tate. (2019). John Minton 1917-1957 | Tate. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/john-minton-1644.
Edwards, J. (2019). Paintings - Jonathan Edwards Illustration. [online] Jonathan-e.com. Available at: http://www.jonathan-e.com/paintings/4584095887.
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