Below is a motley collection of illustrations but I feel they share something in common: They seem to have started from an assemblage of large shapes of colour. On top of those shapes, some are rendered and shaded while others aren’t.
The peak example of what I’m talking about is the illustration below.
KÔ & KÔ (1933), Vieira da Silva (illustrator), Pierre Gueguen (author)KÔ & KÔ (1933), Vieira da Silva (illustrator), Pierre Gueguen (author)Winter Evening, Julie de Graag, 1919KÔ & KÔ (1933), Vieira da Silva (illustrator), Pierre Gueguen (author) KÔ & KÔ (1933), Vieira da Silva (illustrator), Pierre Gueguen (author) KÔ & KÔ (1933), Vieira da Silva (illustrator), Pierre Gueguen (author)KÔ & KÔ (1933), Vieira da Silva (illustrator), Pierre Gueguen (author)KÔ & KÔ (1933), Vieira da Silva (illustrator), Pierre Gueguen (author)LES MÉTAMORPHOSES D’ALADIN OU COMMENT IL FUT PASSÉ AU CAVIAR (1912,2006) Lucien Laforge and Jean-Jean-François MartinOlya GaidamakaKutsu Kutsu ArukeKleine Ezel Little Donkey 2001Dick Bruna (1927-2017) from his children’s book The Circus (1963)Dick Bruna (1927-2017) from his children’s book The Circus (1963)Dick Bruna (1927-2017) from his children’s book The Circus (1963)Dick Bruna (1927-2017) from his children’s book The Circus (1963)From Sleepy Book, 1958. Illustration by Vladimir Bobri, born in Kharkiv, Ukraine1920s Harper’s Bazaar cover artwork by Ertéかげ (Shadow) 篠原勝之 1976かげ (Shadow) 篠原勝之 1976 back coverLisbeth Zwerger – Dwarf NoseWoman’s World Magazine Mar 1921Arthur Grover Rider, American (1886-1975) Spanish Fisherman not datedMax Kurzweil (Austrian, 1867-1916) Woman in a Yellow Dress, 1899
Another illustrator who reminds me of LIsbeth Zwerger: Olya Gaidamaka, in which large, tomoe, teardrop shapes dominate in composition.
Olya GaidamakaOlya GaidamakaOlya GaidamakaDe roze jurk 2008Kleine Ezel Little Donkey 2001おとうさんのえほん 1994 Dad’s Picture Bookみどりのようせい 1968かぼちゃにしたら 竹内通雅いたらいいのにな 古川タク 1985Polish illustrator Zdzisław Witwicki, (1921-2019)HOLČIČKA A DÉŠT (1974) Jan KudláčekRaoul Chareun (Cagliari, 1889 – Milan, 1949) The pastoralism, L’Agricoltura Italiana illustrata, Milan, 1918 crop circleHERZAUGE (1937) Hap GrieshaberMITKEY ASTROMOUSE (1971) Heinz EdelmannMITKEY ASTROMOUSE (1971) Heinz EdelmannMITKEY ASTROMOUSE (1971) Heinz EdelmannBack cover of an issue of Kodomo no tenchi magazine, 1934 children drawingTHE BOY WHO HAD WINGS (1974) Helga AichingerF. MASSE (1976) Francis MasseFOUR AND TWENTY BLACKBIRDS (1937) Robert Lawson they hopped away to strawberry hillFEODORA (1947) Jan GoetingFEODORA (1947) Jan GoetingFEODORA (1947) Jan GoetingFEODORA (1947) Jan GoetingFEODORA (1947) Jan GoetingHERZAUGE (1937) Hap GrieshaberHERZAUGE (1937) Hap GrieshaberJean Helion Untitled 1943The words seemed to shimmer away from her, Illustration in ‘English Woman’ 12 July 1958. Artist not foundCover by Marcello Dudovich, 1908 A good example of four colour illustrationNICOLE ET L’ASCENSEUR (1971) Bernadette Després coverアナンシと６ぴきのむすこ 1980太陽へとぶ矢 2000Al Dempster for Alice In Wonderland Little Golden Book 1951Illustration (1960) by Lev Tokmakov dogMary Blair It’s a Small World’ concept painting (Walt Disney, 1964-66)beavers from The World Amazing Animals (1957) Marie Neurath (1898-1986)The American Puritans Their Prose and Poetry edited by Perry Miller, 1956, illustrated by Edward GoreyAntonio Lopez (1943 – 1987) 1967 advertisement illustration ‘We Dream Of Ice Cream’ for Elle magazineAl Parker (1906 – 1985) Cosmopolitan Magazine Cover 1964Artwork (1975) by John Luke EastmanSt. Mark’s Square Venice Cover by Marcello Dudovich, 1907Nicolas Sidjakov, illus. for A Lodestone and a Toadstone by Irene Elmer, 1969Vladimir Bobri (Bobritsky) UkranianVladimir Bobri (Bobritsky) UkranianVladimir Bobri (Bobritsky) UkranianVladimir Bobri (Bobritsky) UkranianVladimir Bobri (Bobritsky) Ukranian‘Arbiter’ The Modern Man’s Review – Cover by Paolo Garretto, 1951
CONTEMPORARY FICTION SET IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (2023)
On paper, things look fine. Sam Dennon recently inherited significant wealth from his uncle. As a respected architect, Sam spends his days thinking about the family needs and rich lives of his clients. But privately? Even his enduring love of amateur astronomy is on the wane. Sam has built a sustainable-architecture display home for himself but hasn’t yet moved into it, preferring to sleep in his cocoon of a campervan. Although they never announced it publicly, Sam’s wife and business partner ended their marriage years ago due to lack of intimacy, leaving Sam with the sense he is irreparably broken.
Now his beloved uncle has died. An intensifying fear manifests as health anxiety, with night terrors from a half-remembered early childhood event. To assuage the loneliness, Sam embarks on a Personal Happiness Project:
