[ December 05, 2013, 11:58 AM: Message edited by: Ricardo Davila ]
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Here are two pertinent comments below that story re the above article:
"I was lucky to grow up in a time when those pictures and others like them came into our home on a weekly basis by way of magazine covers. Also, some of that great news photography that brought the world to my home. I can look at a Rockwell picture today and it can be like hitting a Reset button in my psyche and remind me what is important in my life and to let go of some of the foolish things I can sometimes hold on to way too tightly. "
and
"Norman was not only a great illustrator, he was a very kind, humble man. I used to live near Stockbridge and would see him riding his bicycle every once in awhile. I stopped him one time and we went into the restaurant featured in his famous illustration of the Ma. State Police Trooper sitting at the counter with the little boy. We sat there having coffee for about a half hour and talked about everything. He was known to be kind to anyone who approached him."
Wonderful!
Will we ever see that likes of that again? I'd have lobved to have known him. Shame no one made a time-lapse video of him at work on one of his creations!
[ December 06, 2013, 05:43 PM: Message edited by: Ian Stewart-Koster ]
Posted by Ricardo Davila (Member # 3854) on :
Fantastic story, Ian !.....
When I was taking the commercial art course of "Famous Artists" school of art , back in the 60s, he was one of the teachers, in their staff, who would correct the drawing assignments that I had to submit to them, for corrections and/or critique......Unfortunately, I have lost those books ( I think the whole commercial art course was contained in 4 big and colorful-----red,dark blue, dark gray and yellow covered,3 ring books ) and my corrected assignments, which were sent back to me, with notes written by Mr. Rockwell and other members of the staff.
You are right.....He was a very humble and a good man. But, to me, he was more than just an illustrator. He was a hell of an artist.
RD
[ December 06, 2013, 02:54 PM: Message edited by: Ricardo Davila ]
Posted by Alicia B. Jennings (Member # 1272) on :
I'd like to see a painting of Andy Warhol and Norman Rockwell both examaing each other's work. And in the background you see Picasso and Frederic Remington arguing about who is a better artist.
Posted by Ricardo Davila (Member # 3854) on :
I think Norman Rockwell is my all time favorite artist, not just for the quality of his work but also for the subject matter and subtle humor therein.
Edited to add: As a child, I used to look forward to my father getting The Saturday Evening Post because I loved to study the cover art.
[ December 06, 2013, 07:21 PM: Message edited by: David Harding ]
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
Ian, are you saying that you are a Massachusetts kid?
Posted by Ricardo Davila (Member # 3854) on :
Hey, Rick....
Put me down on that list
1970/1975....Cambridge, Mass. Opened my first sign shop on Mass Ave., Arlington, Mass.
RD
P.S.(1) -- Married a girl from Cambridge and have a 41 year old son with her.
P.S.(2) -- Went to Butera and studied under Mr. Mario Carmosino.
[ December 07, 2013, 01:45 PM: Message edited by: Ricardo Davila ]
Posted by DianeBalch (Member # 1301) on :
When my daughter was in Kindergarten, the principle of the school was the girl in the Doll & the Doctor painting. I bought some prints of it at the Norman Rockwell museum and she signed them. They are framed- 1 in my house and 1 in the school where she was principle for 17 years.
Diane
Posted by Rusty Bradley (Member # 6938) on :
Ricardo...are you trying to make a point by comparing the works of Warhol and Rockwell?...if you are then I think I get your point...Warhol's work was based on gimmickry...Rockwell connected emotionally to the viewer.
Posted by Ricardo Davila (Member # 3854) on :
[ December 09, 2013, 08:09 PM: Message edited by: Ricardo Davila ]
Posted by Ricardo Davila (Member # 3854) on :
Rusty,
Strangely, as it may seem, I totally agree with you......Now, that has to be a shocker.
RD
P.S. I brought in the two websites for the benefit of Alicia.....and only for that reason.....based on her comments, only......I really don't care much for Mr. Warhol's work.
Posted by Jane Diaz (Member # 595) on :
I saw an exhibit of his paintings once and I was surprise to see how big they were and how beautifully detailed. I just thought they were smaller I guess. I always knew I liked his work but that was something new for me. One other reason I always liked him too were the stories. Every painting had it's own little story about an event or person and there were so many little "clues" in there, the harder you looked at all the details, the more you learned about the story.
Posted by Terry Colley (Member # 1245) on :
The comparison of Rockwell to Warhol is not a valid one. I had this explaned to me as a younger man talking to a senior lecturer in fine art at machester university, I thought Rockwell was a better artist than van gough, His reply stuck with me since. He asked the teenage me if I new the difference between a painting and an illustration ? of course I could not answer. The difference is that a painting is expressive and an illustration is descriptive. Not that rockwell was not expressive but he was firstly an illustrator not a painter , at the time I did not accept this , but years have changed my opinion Cheers Terry
Posted by David O'Hanlon (Member # 2754) on :
Norman Rockwell described himself as an Illustrator, not an artist, and that's good enough for me.
Posted by Ricardo Davila (Member # 3854) on :
COMPARISON: noun \kəm-ˈper-ə-sən, -ˈpa-rə-\ The act of looking at things to see how they are similar or different.
Terry,
My take is that all comparisons are valid....Whether to compare similarities or differences.
It seems that Mr. Rockwell, sometimes, is labeled, by many, as "just" an illustrator and sometimes, others say he is an artist.........My personal take is that Mr. Rockwell was a hell of an artist who, just, chose to work as an illustrator.
Maybe, like many others, from those days, he chose to be an illustrator, for the quick and guaranteed income, then. Especially, for the kind of money he was being paid by The Saturday Evening Post magazine, for those magnificent covers he painted .....I guess we will never know.....Remember, it was his choice to work as an illustrator, only he knew why.
On the other hand, in my opinion, the great Van Gogh was a very mentally ill, post-Impressionist painter, whose paintings ( "they" say ) were affected by his mental illness and characterized by what was called "rough beauty", with the use of very thick applications of paint on the canvas, etc.......Here is a sample of his work:
To compare these two great artists, to determine who was the best one of the two is an impossibility.....It cannot be done.
Terry, I would not say that Mr. Rockwell was a better artist than Mr. Van Gogh....I rather say that they were, just, different artists....It all boils down to the eyes of the beholder.
RD
P.S.
Again, I give you an example of Mr. Rockwell's work:
Anyway, I think that that Mr. Rockwell's work not only describes the story on hand ( graphically ) but, it is also, expressive......It expresses heat, cold, anger, happiness, sadness,etc......Mr. Rockwell did know how to do it very well.
