The OFFICIAL "This week in your ILLUSTRATION collection?" 1 1

[ESeffinga]

I was a latecomer to Matt Gordon's work.

I stumbled across his illustrations thanks to artist/director Troy Nixey last July or August, and it immediately struck a chord with me. The piece I saw first was something Matt drew as a commission for Troy.  It was a super dynamic fight captured in a deceptively simple drawing, and the characters in it looked fun and unique. But it was in doing a Google image search for Matt's art that afternoon when  it hit me just how huge and incredible this guys imagination was. He has a whole world of characters he has been developing. Much of it drawn from his childhood, and a sort of fantasy world constructed out of it and the rest of his life experiences.

The work he is currently exploring has been going on as an underlying thread for much of his life. It's only been in the last half-dozen years that it's really solidified into a distinct and recognizable world. It's still evolving, the character designs getting tighter and tighter. Matt is a whiz with creating "life" in a drawing. So much of what I love in a great drawing is seeing the spark behind the eyes. That breath of life that comes from really keen observation of the figure, of human nature, and of the world around us. But then there's also the infusion of imagination as well. It's the sort of thing that makes a Frazetta drawing so engaging.

But Matt is not Frazetta. In a way, I see a combination of things in Matt's work. The life of a Frazetta piece, the whimsy of someone like Claire Wendling or Charles Vess. But something Matt's drawings do that I don't recall ever happening for me before, is that they remind me of a time and place that never was. It all at once tugs on my heartstrings with a nostalgic kick I usually only get from seeing things I personally experienced as a kid (comics, toys, movies), but he manages to bring in other things I remember from that time but never was a part of myself. And yet I see them and yearn, and my heart feels warm and fuzzy for them. It really is hard to quantify, but it's a very solid feeling of joy that ultimately comes when I see something new. Not everything hits me with the same level of yearning, but it all goes into this greater whole. This fantasy land that Matt's been creating, and I can't wait to see where he takes it all.

Last year I immediately contacted Matt about buying something, and have picked up a few pieces, and a painted commission since then. The latest piece falls into the "Illustration" category, which is why I'm posting it here and haven't mentioned him on these boards before. He's not a comic artist (though he is working on what may yet become a comic or book in the background).  He's done several private commissions for some well known folks. The last I heard about was Elton John. This particular piece was commissioned by the band Primus as one of their tour posters. It was finally announced publicly yesterday, so it's OK to show it now I think.

 

 

[Hekla]

Won this from the HA Sunday auction a couple of weeks ago and just received it.

Look and Learn: Our Expanding Universe pages 10-11 (December, 1974) by Gerry Wood (attr.) Gouache on illustration board, approx. 17x12

I'm not familiar with the publication, but the piece is definitely in my wheelhouse for sciencey/sci-fi works

 

 

[ESeffinga]

Boy that orangey red/blue just pops off of there. Dig it.

[Bronty]

nice illos!

[Panelfan1]

Yeah - love the space art!

[Bronty]

The Primus piece is really cool also.   I don't have an attachment to the band or a knowledge of the artist but there's clearly a good artist at work there.

[The Voord]

23 hours ago, Hekla said:

Won this from the HA Sunday auction a couple of weeks ago and just received it.

Look and Learn: Our Expanding Universe pages 10-11 (December, 1974) by Gerry Wood (attr.) Gouache on illustration board, approx. 17x12

I'm not familiar with the publication, but the piece is definitely in my wheelhouse for sciencey/sci-fi works

 

 

It was a British magazine that ran from 1962 - 1982, hosting a mixture of illustrated articles and a few comic-strips (most famous being, THE TRIGAN EMPIRE by Don Lawrence).  As a kid, my dad bought me the mag in the hope it would steer me away from comic-strips . . . but it was the mag's comic-strips that I honed-in on.

Jeff West of the 'Book Palace' (UK web-site) bought-up the artwork inventory some years ago.  His site still holds hundreds of originals available for sale.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2017 by The Voord

[Hekla]

Thanks for the info, Terry. And thanks for posting about the Book Palace - I just looked briefly at their website and realized I may not get much work done today

[Bronty]

I've been getting into pinball the last year or so, and I love the backglass illustrations from the 1990s classics.    (There are five or eight 90s machines generally considered to be the best machines of all time).    Monster Bash is at the top of many people's lists, and near the top of everyone else's.     I was delighted to locate the 30 by 40 painted (with color pencil accents) artwork.     Its impossible to get a good picture of something that size, but it looks great in person, and I'm thrilled to have the artwork for one of the true classics.     More than I usually like to spend, but well worth it!  

Here it is at scale (awkward pic of me so cropped out  )

 

and a more close up one, and framed

 

and finally the machine itself (not mine, I don't own one).

 

 

 

[itviking]

Picked up this illustration by Disney artist Paul Wenzel. You may not recognize his name, but you've probably seen his work before.

He worked for Disney from 1958-1999 and has painted thousands of pieces for Disney in his time with them. He is regarded one of their most prolific and popular movie poster artists, and his work can be found on many items marketed by Disney over the years. He also painted a portrait of Walt Disney himself for a famous US postage stamp in 1968. Paul Wenzel also managed all of the Disney Marketing Department's artists for a number of years before his retirement.

This particular piece was part of a commission by Paul Wenzel for Lucas Books, created shortly after his retirement from Disney. The piece appears in a children's book titled 'Save Naboo!' published in 2000.

 

 

Here it is all framed up.

 

 

Here's what the published illustration looks like.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bronty]

Spent an hour or two with Paul on the phone maybe five years while trying to track down some disney related illustrations.      Literally the nicest man in the world to speak to.

[vodou]

10 minutes ago, Bronty said:

Spent an hour or two with Paul on the phone maybe five years while trying to track down some disney related illustrations.      Literally the nicest man in the world to speak to.

You do keep busy huh? I never even heard of the guy and you were killing two hours with him five years ago...cool. I enjoy art so much, even now after nearing forty years of appreciation (from afar initially) because there is still so much more I don't know than I do. Like this guy Paul. Or your Monster Bash bg. Dig it. And I've never played the game, preferring electromagnetics to digitals

[Bronty]

Just now, vodou said:

You do keep busy huh? 

Well Paul was the head honcho on the disney art department side.    If something got made it was through him.   Who better to speak to ?

[vodou]

6 minutes ago, Bronty said:

Well Paul was the head honcho on the disney art department side.    If something got made it was through him.   Who better to speak to ?

Sure. I was just too busy picking up comic art to take a breath and venture into figuring out Disney. (Also have never been a particular fan aside from...if somebody has something on, I won't leave the room!)

[ESeffinga]

You gotta get a copy of that pinball machine for yourself!

Love the look of your original and comparing to the backlit board in the machine. Totally cool.

Edited August 16, 2017 by ESeffinga

[Bronty]

Thanks.    The machine itself is probably another 10k so I'll pass for now having just bought the art and having just bought a (different) machine this weekend.     The old lady can only take so many heart attacks ( a 300 pound brick taking up real estate was not high on her list   )

[Hekla]

That Monster Bash piece is cool and the game looks awesome in that lighting.

 

Re: Wenzel, the name is familiar; I feel like I've bid on his pieces before (but obviously never won)

[Bronty]

Just now, Hekla said:

Re: Wenzel, the name is familiar; I feel like I've bid on his pieces before (but obviously never won)

He consigned some pieces to Heritage a couple years back.

[itviking]

3 hours ago, Bronty said:

Spent an hour or two with Paul on the phone maybe five years while trying to track down some disney related illustrations.      Literally the nicest man in the world to speak to.

Thanks for the comments Bronty. That's great to know. I would have guessed that he was a pretty down to Earth person based on his painting interests. He lives in Arizona and loves to paint western themes, and native American peoples.

 

Btw... LOVE the post re: the painting & pinball machine. Seeing how art is used in products is fascinating.

[itviking]

I wanted to add that the cost of the Paul Wenzel piece was, in my opinion, completely ridiculous considering the artist. I paid $75 for it.

I was more than happy to spend several times more than that just to have it professionally framed with archival materials.