A recent rummage through some boxes turned up two copies of Black Mask, and I started reading them. One was from the thirties, another from the forties. I thought it might be interesting to review a few issues to see the difference in editors as the magazine changed. As I did that, I found some… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 1- In the beginning
Category: Illustrators
Ups and Downs of the Illustrating life
Charlie Dye, famous illustrator and cowboy artist, on how he got into illustration and what he found it to be. “My career in Art has been typical of so many others, that only in detail does it differ. I first studied in Chicago and started in advertising art there in the Windy City. Then I… Continue reading Ups and Downs of the Illustrating life
Allen Anderson – The Gunfighting gal
Allen Anderson painted over a hundred and fifty pulp covers for Ace Magazines and Fiction House. This is one of his best, from Bob Lesser’s collection. The printed cover was almost as good as the painting.
Good Griff! British paperbacks of the 1950s
As i was browsing through EBay, I came across this cover. Couldn’t let it pass without investigation, could I? A couple of days later, I emerged from that rabbit hole with a few images gathered here for your enjoyment. Images might take some time to load as they’re reasonably large. Patience will be rewarded. I… Continue reading Good Griff! British paperbacks of the 1950s
The case of the unknown artists, or Who did the early covers for Blue Book?
A couple of weeks ago, as I was going through the May 1907 issue of Blue Book, I realized that the cover was signed but unidentified. Indeed, the FictionMags Index did not have artists attributed for the first few years of the magazine’s existence. From 1912 onwards, the magazine credited the cover artist in the… Continue reading The case of the unknown artists, or Who did the early covers for Blue Book?
Wild West Weekly October 14 1933
Wouldn’t this cover by Walter M. Baumhofer have been perfect for the Robert E. Howard collection Skull-face and others?
Ace Sports February 1943: Norman Saunders cover
I love the sneaky way Norman Saunders got his signature twice into this painting. One near the bottom right where you’d expect to find it and one on the player’s jersey. Do you know any of other covers like this?
Rafael DeSoto covers on my new illustrator spotlight blog
Started a new blog on illustrators sometime ago but haven’t found time to do more posts :-). Hopefully this post makes up for the gap between posts. https://illustratorspotlight.blogspot.com/2020/01/rafael-desoto-art-teacher-illustrator.html
J.C. Leyendecker exhibition of illustrations
Wondering what to do as vacation time approaches? Go to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, of course, and find out what these two are looking at. A new exhibition at the Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Leyendecker and the Golden Age of American Illustration, includes 42 original paintings and 101 Saturday Evening Post covers from the… Continue reading J.C. Leyendecker exhibition of illustrations
Crazy Cows and Horrified Horses – The western art of George Harrison Wert
I like pulp covers, but i have to confess that most of the people portrayed on the covers had a total lack of expression comparable to the Great Stoneface, Buster Keaton himself. They could be dealing with a rogue elephant, a runaway stagecoach or a snarling man eating beast, and they would serenely confront them,… Continue reading Crazy Cows and Horrified Horses – The western art of George Harrison Wert