Fine Art or Illustration??
Sometimes in the art world there exists a little snobbery as to who is an artist and who is “merely” an illustrator or “commercial artist”. In my opinion it’s mostly just a battle of semantics more than of true quality or cultural value in the work. I believe a commercially motivated drawing can have far greater lasting value and import than some of the works of “art for art’s sake” out there. Who is this “Art” guy for whose sake people make this stuff anyway? But I digress…
I’ll admit, though it’s usually pretty clear when we look at a piece whether it’s meant as a fine art painting (or sculpture) or whether it’s a work of “commercial” art or illustration, just by the nature of what’s “going on” in the composition.
I, for one, love the process of fine art creation – having clay in my hands and putting real paint on a real canvas, knowing that’s the way it’s meant to be viewed. That said, my career as an illustrator has also been deeply satisfying and rife with creative opportunity. My illustrations have influenced my painting style, and vice versa.
Over the next little while, I’ll be presenting some artistic selections from my experience as an illustrator, hoping they’ll be fun to look at and also stimulate a sense of stylistic diversity with which the world of design is so very rich indeed!