Yada, Yada, Yada
 

Michele,

What I

He was a true artist. I recognize no distinction based on the whims of the art critics and dealers of artistic dribble. Yes, the worst of his art was mere commercialism but he was under the constraints of his profession the same as any commercial artist. But even those pieces he completed with integrity and commitment to do the best job he could under the circumstance.

His best work, however, was genius in its ability to speak the truth of the common man and lift it above its commonality to display the beauty in everyday subjects. Many feel his images displayed an idealized world that never existed. In some ways he showed us what we wished life was like as seen through the rose colored glasses of reminiscence. But much of the greatness of Norman Rockwell was his ability to tell you a story with a single image that brought the viewer in to that story and made you feel better for a moment, no matter what might have been going on in your life at the time.

That may not be a critic's idea of what an artist should do but I do not care. To me Norman Rockwell was a True Artist. He just happened to earn his income creating commercial illustrations.

Let's not confuse who we are (or someone else) with what we do to survive. It is how we live our life and the integrity we put into our work that matters. And, Marvin, IMO you have been successful - you need not worry. I of course have not seen every piece of illustration work you did, but from what I have seen IMO much of it was very good art, even if ADs had their way with it.

I feel we all must have a goal far beyond where we are today in order to grow. I would suspect that even Bouguereau, if asked during his career, would have said he still had not reached his greatest level and that he had yet to become the painter he strived to be.

[QUOTE]It

Marvin, I have a very strong feeling that you need not worry about your statement above. You sound like a terrific teacher, and I would love to see your work.

Since you are a teacher, you can now recognize me as the student who loves to rouse some discussion and take it a little further than the of which I am most likely very guilty. Just learning the "art" of portraiture, I am also learning to be more of a planner and appreciate all of your input. But since I am a new student to this, sometimes my planning doesn't work out.

If you have read my threads I have often asked the question about "the rules" and where they came from, mainly regarding color temperature. I do not know if the "masters" had these rules or we developed them over the years from their successful work. When Van Gogh's work traveled to the National Gallery in DC, so did I. He amazes me; I have a bi-polar kid and maybe that is why I find him so fascinating. I can see his frustration in some of his works, but I am so overwhelmed when you stumble upon the one where he got "the rules" right.

To me the fun of his show is the variance of his work, from ...what was he thinking...to OH MY Gosh! I recommend everyone taking in one of his shows. Instead of constant perfection, I think you see the ups and downs. (Didn't mean to play on words there.)

I think a commercial illustrator, and artist working in advertising - would have the BEST training to enter a career in this type of art form. Because of, as you stated, their attention to detail and planning. As I progress, one can never underestimate the value of working with people.

[QUOTE] What I

Marvin,

I just checked out your web site and am now bowing down before you! Awesome!

Your award winning portrait of "Eric" looks like he could walk off the page, and the illustration for the MTV ad is wonderful. I have never seen acrylic look so smooth, I thought the wall outlets were airbrush.

I hope you have not totally stopped illustrating commercially - you are obiviously so accomplished. I see now why you are a MASTER planner! :cool:

No more pretty pictures
 

Michael,
I never let the art director's interference stop me from doing my best work. It just made it harder for me. Ironically, the ADs felt that the work was good because of them while I knew it was good in spite of them.

I was never willing to do a less than perfect job. Regardless of the budget or circumstances, once I committed to doing the painting I gave it my all. I would never take an assignment if I felt the lack of time would sacrifice quality. I loved seeing when other top illustrators did a bad job. I was never willing to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing me turn in a stinker.

Beth,
Thanks for your generous compliment. I am proud to say that my illustration career is now offically over. The amount of money it would take to entice me to revert to my former profession pretty much guarantees that the phrase

Marvin, your uncompromising quest to always do your utmost is a true inspiration!

Planning ahead in my view is similar to laying the foundation upon which to build the final product. If the foundation is weak, the entire effect will be weak and vice-versa. I usually start out with a concept idea, then look for the right composition and theeeen get totally side-tracked and plunge head over heels into the painting.

On one hand, I see being organized and approaching a work with a plan as a fool-proof way to meet one's objective; on the other hand though, one loses those accidental errors that can lead to surprising wonderful results. Painting also turns into a chore of checking and rechecking, that to me takes the fun out of being creative.

Truthfully, I don't know which is better, so I take a little of both and just pray that it will work out.