The History of illustration Part 1 .Exercise 1

 In this exercise i was asked to choose an illustrator  from the list given and then my own illustrator .
For this exercise i chose E H Shephard  from the list,as i really love his illustrations especially in Winnie the pooh and Wind in the willows i remember reading these books as a child which are so innocent and fascinating. I shall make notes in each illustrator along with original art work from these guys and also my own art.

I feel that E H Shephards work was kinda old fashioned more so the art he created in the 1st world war, very black and white and a lot of cross hatching i must admit i did prefer the Winnie pooh and wind in the willows a lot more. As these seemed more cute and childlike which brings back childhood memories i can really understand why kids love these books.The images from the 1st world war seemed rather dark to me but also quite nostalgic.

Here below is an image i chose "The wounded Soldier " which really brings to mind how those days were and real to life.

​'Wounded Irish soldier' by Ernest Howard Shepard (1879–1976), © the copyright holder, photo credit: The Shepard Trust

​E H​ shepherd was an English artist and a book illustrator. He was known for creating animal ” and toy illustrations he illustrated for wind in the willows and Winnie the Pooh. children  loved his characters And still today are very much enjoyed.

He was born in 1897 in London his father was an architect.

Throughout the rest of his career Shepard illustrated books for many leading authors of the period, including several for Kenneth Grahame. Shepard was in fact the fourth illustrator to draw the characters for 'Wind in the Willows,' but the only one who managed to capture the essence of the animals that Grahame had in mind. He remained busy as an illustrator his whole life and even managed to write two children's books of his own in his mid eighties. These were titled 'Ben and Brook' (1966) and 'Betsy and Joe' (1967). Though the books didn't gain much popularity, their publication gave Shepard great pleasure. Shepard also colored his original line drawings for new editions of 'Winnie the Pooh' (1973) and 'The House at Pooh Corner' (1974). 'The Pooh Story Book', released in 1976, contained new line and color pictures by Shepard. He became famous for his illustrations for well loved children’s books 

In his work Edward  used 

• used small pencil stubs
• worked in ink, pen & black crayon (occasional)
• watercolor paper
• crosshatching, fine line or crayon for shadows
• also painted in oils.

Here below i have sketched a young boy with his twig in his hand  on the beach ,deeply engrossed with his bucket and the sea shore. Quite cute i feel.

I decided to use pencil with a bit of inking in places i am happy with this as its my first attempt at inking and pencil drawings i also added some smudging in places .

The artist i have chosen is Al Parker i am fascinated by his artwork i love the retro vintage look.

A founder of the modern glamour aesthetic, Alfred Charles Parker (1906-1985), defined the progressive look and feel of published imagery at a time of sweeping change, when Americans, emerging from the trials of economic depression and war, sought symbols of hope and redemption on the pages of our nation’s periodicals. His innovative modernist artworks created for mass-appeal women’s magazines and their advertisers captivated upwardly mobile mid-twentieth century readers, reflecting and profoundly influencing the values and aspirations of American women and their families during the post-war era.  

Dad returning home from the war greeted by his wife and Daughter

I believe that Parker   used Oil Paints to create his fabulous illustrations.

Here is my own piece of artwork that i have created in the style of Al Parker. Below.

1950 s Housewife baking in the kitchen

I decided to use  pencil for the outline drawing in my picture, and colored with oil paints i  love the vibrant colors of this piece . I notice that Al Parker's art was very colorful and vibrant he seems to base a lot of his art around the 50 s housewives , in the kitchen . 

I really enjoyed doing this piece it took me a couple of days to complete.