The Voord

Should have two more movie poster paintings reaching me sometime next week. One of these will be Vic Fair's prototype artwork for the British quad poster of the 1980s movie, FORT APACHE, THE BRONX. Although Fair painted the prototype, the finished campaign artwork was handed-over to Brian Bysouth to paint (adhering very closely to Vic Fair's design). Here's a photo I found of Brian painting the finished art. Next week you'll be able to see just how close it was to Vic Fair's concept art . . .

Funnily enough, I often find that the very best stuff is now being shown on television. Things like Game of Thrones, Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, Walking Dead, Band of Brothers and (more recently) Daredevil spring immediately to mind.

I suppose you could transpose this school of thought to music (music being to the ears what artwork is to the eyes). Does your record collection mainly consist of stuff you listened to at an impressionable age, or has it moved with the times - and you're open to any of the latest tracks that may connect with you? Same could be said of Books, Movies and TV shows . . .

Here's something I saw on Mitch Itkowitz's site in recent times . . . Santa Claus by William Joyce (forgive the lousy scan). I know next-to-nothing about the artist, but it's a painting that immediately connected with me. If I had deep-pockets (it's priced at $10,000), I'd have no hesitation pulling the trigger on this one . . .

Nostalgia plays a part in some of the stuff I collect, but I lean more towards artwork I like based purely on aesthetics - rather than something I remember reading as a kiddie. As such, bit of a mixed-bag for me, and there's room in my collection for both . . .

Brilliant stuff, Lee, huge thanks for your efforts. Always good to delve into the history of this hobby . . .

Return the fake Kanes and get yourself a full refund, Morgan. If you don't, you'll grow to hate those expensive and phony artworks hanging on your walls . . .

New in yesterday . . . Concept movie poster artwork (artist unknown) for the 1977 World War II film, ‘Cross of Iron’, measuring 13” x 21”. Bought this one from Richie Halegua (who has a few other movie poster artworks, should anyone want to investigate with him). A simple, but effective, design (focusing directly on the Iron Cross subject matter, with dripping blood for effect) that also has the movie’s title painted directly onto the artwork (mostly airbrush work). The cast and production credits, at the bottom-half of the art, are printed onto acetate overlays. I quite like this design, but can see why it was never used (copy heavy and Peckinpah's name blurs into the movie's title, adding confusion!). Full description (and additional images of the design opted for in the resulting movie poster campaign) can be found on my CAF update at: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=1865

Amazing!

It's true, you really can fool some of the people some of the time!

Fresh today, stale tomorrow . . .

Well done, Mike, sounds great!

Just finished watching the movie. The three Doberman Pinschers stole the show! Hopefully, since Remo's first and only adventure, he managed to progress from running on wet cement to running on water (just like his Korean mentor)! Quite watchable and fun in places . . . bit like one of the later seasons of Man from UNCLE when the show had gone the route of camp . . . I liked the way they changed Remo's appearance and identity by shaving off his moustache!

The DVD arrived this morning . . . no great expectations (I just want to see the bit where Remo, "runs on water"!).

New in today . . . Tom Chantrell's key component artwork for 'The Idol' "The Idol is a 1966 British drama film directed by Daniel Petrie and starring Jennifer Jones, Michael Parks, Jennifer Hilary and Guy Doleman. A rebellious student embarks on an affair with the mother of his best friend, leading to disastrous consequences." Chantrell's artwork was painted in full colour, though some of the resulting movie posters opted for tinted versions. For example: For Chantrells' full-colour original art, and other poster versions, feel free to peruse my CAF update at: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=1865

I vaguely remember watching the movie at the time of its release, though I'll no doubt seek it out again in the near-future (sometimes these things improve with age, so who knows?). The artwork, which is fully-painted, was an absolute steal at £165 (about $205). Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the asking price! What the heck can $205 buy you in comic-art???

Difficult to photograph this art due to glare from the acetate overlay (the art's a lot sharper than my attachment shows) . . .

New in today . . . Vic Fair prototype quad movie poster design for the UK release of Remo Williams. Image size is 24” x 18” with movie title, cast and production credits painted directly onto an acetate overlay applied over the main artwork.. Likely to be a rubbish movie, by all accounts, but I always was a sucker for moody cityscapes . . . “Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, also released as Remo: Unarmed and Dangerous, was a 1985 American action-adventure-thriller film directed by Guy Hamilton. The film featured Fred Ward, Joel Grey, Wilford Brimley and Kate Mulgrew. The character is based on The Destroyer pulp paperback series. The movie was the only adaptation featuring the character Remo Williams, and fared poorly in theaters. It received mixed reviews from critics, although it did earn Joel Grey a Golden Globe nomination. The film and a Remo Williams television pilot both credited Clark as executive producer. The film was supposed to be the first of a series based on The Destroyer series of novels. A significant setpiece within the film takes place at the Statue of Liberty, which was surrounded by scaffolding for its restoration during this period. Sam Makin is a tough Brooklyn, New York City street cop and Vietnam-era Marine Corps veteran. He is unwillingly recruited as an assassin for a secret United States organization, CURE. The recruitment is through a bizarre method: his death is faked and he is given a new face and a new name. Rechristened "Remo Williams" (after the name and location of the manufacturer of the bedpan in Makin's hospital room), his face is surgically altered and he is trained to be a human killing machine by his aged, derisive and impassive Korean martial arts master Chiun. Though Remo's training is extremely rushed by Chiun's standards, Remo learns such skills as dodging bullets and running on water. Chiun teaches Remo the Korean martial art named "Sinanju". Remo's instruction is interrupted when he is sent by CURE to investigate a corrupt weapons procurement program within the US Army.” http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=1865

REMO painting got delayed in the post . . . now expected Monday.

Corrected!

Never say never! Originally, I was planning to limit my selection of Movie poster paintings to about 12 examples but I kept coming across more and more offerings that managed to excite my collecting impulses (at asking prices that don't exactly break the bank), so three more purchases are currently on the horizon for me (bringing the current total to 18, which is kinda neat for a full-page CAF gallery). Due in tomorrow (assuming the postal services are on time) is a Vic Fair prototype painting for the UK quad poster design of REMO, UNARMED AND DANGEROUS (which I think was called, REMO WILLIAMS; THE ADVENTURE BEGINS, for its USA release in 1978). The movie was based on THE DESTROYER series of pulp novels and was a disappointment at the box-office, also earning mixed reviews. It was directed by Guy Hamilton, director of one of the best James Bond movies, GOLDFINGER (1964). Two images are attached of the realised movie poster campaigns (the quad for the UK market and the one-sheet for the USA). Vic Fair's prototype, for the UK quad poster release (renamed, REMO, UNARMED AND DANGEROUS) is pretty close to the final version, though I'm not entirely sure if Fair was responsible for the final product. So, here's what the resulting American and UK posters looked like . . . and I'll be back soon with Vic Fair's prototype painting for you all to compare. . .

Now uploaded a total of eight JEFF HAWKE dailies onto my CAF. Six of these dailies come from the 1960 serial, "Survival", a personal favourite from this long-running British science-fiction strip. As additional images to the "Survival" dailies, I've uploaded scans of the complete serial (taken from the pages of a reprint edition), so the story can be read in its entirety. http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=1865

Just added another JEFF HAWKE daily onto my CAF. Here's the detail from the third panel, which is highly-reminiscent of Wally Wood (figure at left) . . .

In the process of adding half-a-dozen newly-arrived JEFF HAWKE daily strips onto my CAF over the course of the next few days. JH was a long-running British science-fiction strip, created and illustrated by Sydney Jordan. Here's a detail from one of the strips. Check out my CAF if you like the work and want to see more (JEFF HAWKE Gallery): http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=1865

Chantrell was proficient (and imaginative) in the art of creating main titles for his poster art, usually incorporated in the final design, whether painted directly onto the art boards, in the form of pasted-up elements, or on separate overlays. Last week I purchased Sam Peffer's original painting for the 1976 British sex-comedy, 'Under the Doctor'. The painting carries a separate tissue overlay with main title, cast and production credits. The art wouldn't look good with the overlay in place . . . and without the main title looks sorely lacking. Currently I'm having an American friend create for me a clear overlay that incorporates most of the text elements to match the final (printed) image. Attachment 1 shows the poster art how it was painted . . . attachment 2 shows the tissue overlay with text elements in place . . . and attachment 3 shows the printed movie poster (which I'm aiming to replicate with the overlay my friend is creating for me).