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"Sometimes
my photographic models influence me to get away from traditional illustration to do fairy
portraits like Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina
- Above are some Fine Art Fairy Portraits featuring Art
Deco and Art Nu veau themes of two of my favorite fairy painting models - Grace
And Ann shown here." For more Fairy paintings
and pictures visit www.howarddavidjohnson.com/faeries.htm
or just click on "Faerie Wood" below..." ~ HDJ
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Rags to Riches: Poor
Cinderella MMX makes a perfect compliment to David's "Queen Cinderella" done in
MMVII and is part of a new series of fairy tale illustrations including classic
and contemporary fairy tales; "Stories that never grow old..."
New
for 2010! "The Little Thieves" Mixed Media and "Faerie
Tales" MMVIII Mixed Media
For more Fairy pictures and more fairy
gallery links as well as articles on the artist, keep scrolling down...
Would you like to know more? Then read on
dear friend...
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MANY PIECES OF
ORIGINAL ART ON PAPER LIKE THESE ARE AVAILABLE:
Many pieces
are currently available, mostly 11x14-13x16 inch Prismacolor Paintings
(like Helen of Troy) and pencil portraits (like Arriba #2) followed in
number by Acrylic, Prismacolor and pastel mixed media all on #400
Strathmore Bristol Board ranging from $700.00-$1400. 00 USD and Oil
Paintings on canvas ranging from $1999.00 - 10,000.00 USD.
Pieces that have never been rendered in oil can be
commissioned in 16x20 inch size on canvas for 50% down and delivered in
under 90 days with signed certificates of authenticity aka legal documents
pledging never to render it in that size and media again to ensure premium
collectability and investment potential.
David can also do a completely new picture designed in digital media (for
more on this visit his digital media page) and when we approve the
photo-montage, he uses it as reference to render it in oil on canvas. No surprises.
Existing
Artwork is shipped very well protected and go out to you immediately
via Fed Ex or USPS Express mail upon receipt of payment at our
expense. All
new creations cost a bit more depending on what is involved.
All new
creations and rendering photo montages into art on paper are
a LOT of fun with e-mail attachments and digital cameras.
ORIGINAL OIL PAINTINGS ON CANVAS LIKE THIS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE:
Almost
all of Johnson's Mixed Media creations
(above left) displayed in this site are available to be rendered in oil on canvas like the
20x16 oil on canvas Faerie Guardians 2006 (above right). Each design will
only be rendered in oil once at this size and can be delivered in as
little as 90
days.
Sadly, much of the subtlety, vibrance, lustre and impact of an original oil
painting is lost when it is scanned and imported to digital media or even
printed by a master printer. Nothing can compare to an original oil painting
viewed in person in my opinion but the other painting media definitely look good
in print and have
their charms and distinct advantages as well.
e-mail for
more details at
Thank
you for Visiting... Your business,
letters, & links are always welcome.
*****
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ON SALE NOW
from BRANDYWINE PRESS!
These beautifully printed 11" x 8.5" 64 page hardcover and
trade paperback versions feature 48 full page interior plates in full color
starting at
only $14.99 USD. Less than the price of a single poster! Featuring
Realistic Mythological and Fairy Art created in a style inspired by
Classic Illustrators by American Artist Howard David Johnson.
And check out our
New 2012 edition GIANT
sized 48 x 35 cm 12
month Calendars!
Click on the covers to
order the books and Calendars from Lulu.com
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Gorgeous
Quality Fairy Picture Reproductions for
Publishing Licenses!
Wholesale Collectible Fairy Picture Reprints, Posters, & Licenses
for Commercial use
in
Books
Cards Posters Magazines CDs DVDs Videos & more are available at
reasonable rates.
COMMERCIAL SIZE 300
DPI PRINTING MASTER FILES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ALL HIS FAIRY PAINTINGS -
ANALOG OR DIGITAL COVER FORMATTING AVAILABLE
E-MAIL
FOR COURTEOUS & SPEEDY SERVICE
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ON SALE NOW!
IN BOOKSTORES EVERYWHERE!
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All these fairy
pictures, & text are legally copyrighted & were registered with the U.S.
Library of Congress Office of Copyright in 2004-11 by the author, Howard David Johnson All
rights reserved worldwide. Permission for legal use is available for many applications by
simply contacting the author...
Thank you for visiting! Keep
scrolling down for more Art Galleries, more fairy pictures, fantasy art, Gorgeous
poster size reprints, and essays by the artist on Art & Technology...
*****
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This Art Gallery has been
honored by more than 25,000,000 unique visitors
from the Four
Corners of the Earth:
My
Friends from around the world thus far :
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England,
Canada, Scotland, Wales, Ireland,
Germany, France, Monaco, Andorra,
Italy, The Vatican City State, Greece, Macedonia,
Cyprus, Turkey, Belgium, Denmark, The Faroe Islands,
Greenland, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Croatia, The Czech
Republic, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Luxembourg, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Bulgaria,
Lithuania, Poland, Austria, Romania, Spain,
The Russian Federation, Ukraine, Kazakhstan,
Moldova, Malta, Iceland, Finland, Norway,
Netherlands, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Sweden,
Portugal, Albania, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Gibraltar, Israel, Palestinian Territories,
Egypt, Libya, Mali, Algeria, Niger, Saudi
Arabia, Oman, The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait,
Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Jordan,
Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Ethiopia,
Eritrea, Liberia, The Republic of Congo,
Rwanda, Kenya, Angola, Ghana, The Ivory Coast,
Zambia, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Nigeria,
Namibia, Uganda, Kenya, Eritrea, Tanzania,
Botswana, Malawi, Senegal, Djibouti, Cameroon, Chad,
Gambia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, South
Africa, Viet Nam, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong
Kong, Macau, Mongolia, Mauritius, Singapore,
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Macau,
Malaysia, Taiwan, Nuie, New Zealand, Fiji,
Cook Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, American Samoa,
Australia, Micronesia, Polynesia, Papua New Guinea,
The Heard and McDonald Islands, The Philippines, Guam,
Malaysia,
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Palau, Cocos
Island, The Kingdom of Tonga, Brunei Darussalem, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan,
Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Chagos Islands, The
Republic of Maldives, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan,
Uzbekistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Chile, Argentina,
Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, Peru, Aruba,
Venezuela, Bolivia, Suriname, Guyana, Aruba, The
Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia,
Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, The
Virgin Islands, The Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Saint
Vincent & Grenadines, Grenada, Ecuador, Belize, Nicaragua,
El Salvador, Bermuda, Cuba, Jamaica, Dominica,
Haiti, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, Anguilla,
The Bahamas, Honduras, Mexico, and my home, The
Great Free State of Texas...
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If your home is not listed here please e-mail
and tell us where you're from...
info@howarddavidjohnson.com
We
LOVE hearing from you! Your business, letters,
& links are always welcome...
*****
For more Fairy pictures and more fairy gallery links as
well as articles on the artist, keep scrolling down...
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Enter a world of Beauty and Imagination...
The Realistic Art Galleries of
Contemporary American Illustrator Howard David Johnson
Click on the Icons to
visit the
Educational Galleries of Realistic Art: Including Mythology of
Greece, Rome, Asia, The Celts, The Norsemen, and more...Fairy and Dragon legends, The King
Arthur Legends, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Paintings of Ancient Egypt and
Babylon, Ancient Mystic Religious texts, War and Civilization from the Ancient Spartans to
World War Two, The World's Great Religions, and Free Art Lessons.
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Who is Artist and
Photographer Howard David Johnson?
In David's
invitation to the Florence Biennale Contemporary Art Exhibition, (a
partner in the United Nations' Dialog among Nations), UN Secretary
General Kofi Anon wrote: "Artists have a special role to play
in the global struggle for peace. At their best, artists speak not only
to people; they speak for them. Art is a weapon against ignorance and
hatred and an agent of public awareness... Art opens new doors for
learning, understanding, and peace among nations."
Howard David Johnson is a contemporary visual artist and photographer with a background in
the natural sciences and history. H D Johnson, or David as he is called, works in a wide
variety of media ranging from traditional oils, pastels and others to today's
cutting edge digital media. After a lifetime of drawing and painting, Johnson's
Traditional Art was exhibited in the British Museum in London in 1996 - Three years before
he got his first computer ) His mixed and digital media works have appeared in
numerous American ones since, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His illustrations
have appeared in every major bookstore and game-shop chain in America as well as magazines
and educational texts around the world. Some
of David's more prestigious clients have included
the National Geographic Society, the University of Texas, the University
of Cambridge in England, Paramount Studios, PBS TV, Adobe Photoshop Auto
FX,
Doubleday, the History Book of the Month Club, and J Walter Thompson Advertising.
Realistic Oil
Paintings, Colored pencils, Pastels, Mixed media, and Digital art can also be commissioned
for select projects.
As an illustrator David has not only used the
computer but has been involved in the development of filter imaging software for Adobe
Photoshop. Licensing fees start at only $100.00.
For essays by the
artist on History of Realistic Art & Art & Technology through the centuries scroll
down...
*****
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STYLE and
TECHNIQUE
"Those who are enamoured of
practice without science are like a pilot who goes into a ship without rudder or compass
and never has any certainty where he is going. Practice should always be based upon a
sound knowledge of theory, of which perspective is the guide and gateway, and without it
nothing can be done well in any kind of painting."
| Howard David Johnson is a
visual artist and photographer with a background in |
| the natural sciences and
history. He works in a wide variety of media ranging from traditional |
| oils, pastels and
others to cutting edge digital media. He loves mixing media. This site features |
| examples of
his Pictures, including illustration, photography, experimentalism,
& fine
art. |
| The
various galleries linked to by the icons above show many examples of his
Fantastical Realistic Art, & are grouped by theme rather than media. There are also
several special pages with discussion of media & galleries devoted to History,
Classical Mythology, Women of Mythology, & Celtic & Asian Myth & Legend. |
|
A
portrait of the artist in his painting studio as he is today.
This September 2009
photo was taken by his youngest son Erich.
|
Since boyhood he has passionately copied the old masters. To
create his fairy pictures, he usually starts with a thematic concept followed by a
rough realistic pencil sketch, then followed by his original photography, often traveling
to find suitable scenes and locations and then working in his Photography studio with live
models from his sketches. He then assembles a variety of elements which are realistic and
original. As a boy he dedicated his life to art in 1960. From 1965- 1999 he used
xeroxes and tracings to make his preliminary collages. This is patterned after the
manner used by Maxfield Parrish and other 19th century notables. Beginning with a tracing,
he now draws or paints from these new complex original Computer Photo Montages. Many of
these are on display on this web and slated for future completion in a variety of
realistic traditional art media. As this happens, the finished work is substituted in the
exhibit. For decades David has sought out the most beautiful models and brought them in
for sessions in his analog photography studio. Using a strategy employed by J.W.
Waterhouse, (the old master David imitates most )- his wistful and graceful models cannot
be underestimated in their contribution to the stunning beauty and the potential for
lasting appeal of his work.
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His favourite medium for realistic art is colored pencil because of the
high speed and low expense, and people began expressing difficulty in telling his colored
pencil drawing from photographs in the early 1980's. In the last 35 plus years he
has also mastered Oils, Pastels, Acrylics, Watercolors, Inks, Scratchboard, Gouache,
Photography, and the highly controversial digital media. As
a commercial illustrator Johnson has not only used the computer to create art but has been
involved in the development of computer imaging software for Adobe Photoshop. Working in a
realistic style inspired by classic illustrators HDJ is deeply rooted and grounded in the
Greco-Roman artistic tradition, Feeling that with realistic art, the human form is the
ultimate arena for artistic expression. His lifelong dream came true when his Traditional
Realistic Art was exhibited in the British Museum in London England in 1996. His mixed
media has also been displayed in numerous other ones since such as the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. Having achieved international acclaim as a traditional visual artist he
discovered digital media ( Art Numérica ) in
1999. Because of his passion for realistic art and photography he elected to embrace it
and joyfully be a part of this historic era in the visual arts as a 21st century realistic
visual artist.
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Since
1972 when he began his career as a scientific illustrator for the University of Texas he
has earned his living illustrating all kinds of books, magazines, CD covers, and all sorts
of games, greeting cards, calendars, portraits, murals and the like with his contemporary
realistic art... HDJ's Realistic Art has appeared in every major
bookstore chain and fantasy gaming shop in The United States and has been used in
educational texts and magazines all over the world. This site features realistic paintings
& pictures for the twenty-first Century including some oil paintings, as
well as lots of other exciting media such as colored pencil drawings, pastel paintings,
acrylic paintings, gouache paintings, watercolor paintings, and pencil drawings, and also
featuring studio, field, & aerial photography, digital painting and
photo-montage and all these media mixed in an assortment of experimental
combinations...Working in a wide variety of media to create his realistic art he offers
his customers a host of payment and product options. He delivers the rights to these
custom made copyright free illustrations and old fashioned customer service when he does
work-for-hire. He loves to paint custom oil paintings and accepts commissions with down
payments starting at one thousand dollars. Other media, like colored pencil or digital are
of course less expensive.
On his existing works his
license offers start at only
100 dollars.
*****
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Bonus Section:
Personal Opinion Essays on Realistic Art
yesterday and today by the artist.
"The Oracle"
(2009 version Mixed Media) above left and "The Lady of Shalott" (2010 Mixed Media) above right
and center.
In addition to his mastery of
traditional media, Howard David Johnson now combines drawing, painting,
photography, and digital media with more than thirty years of experience in these fields
to create his 21st century fairy paintings and pictures. Did
you know the Greek word "Photography" means "Painting with Light"?
Today with the advent of computers it truly lives up to it's name. Due to developments in
Art and Technology, a broader definition of painting is needed than that which is found in
common usage. Announcing Art Numérica -an
exciting merger of traditional visual art and cutting edge technology... a new art form
for the twenty- first century... Art Numérica is not limited to realistic or fairy art
but also offers limitless horizons for everything from cartoons to
abstractions. It is the
most dramatic development in the visual arts since the Renaissance. As Al Jolson said in
the world's first talking picture" You ain't seen nothin' yet!"
Essay One:
"THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME..."
(A Brief essay
dealing with attitudes toward Traditional Realistic Paintings, Pastels, Colored Pencils
and Art Numérique )
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"Painting, in art, the action of laying colour on a surface, or the
representation of objects by this means. Considered one of the fine arts"
~Encyclopaedia Britannica.
"Painting. noun. 1.) The act
or employment of laying on colors or paints. 2.) The art of forming figures or objects in
colors on canvas or any other surface, or the art of representing to the eye by means of
figures and colors any object; the work of an illustrator or painter. 3.) A picture; a
likeness or resemblance in shape or colors. 4.) Colors laid on. 5.) Delineation that
raises a vivid image in the mind; as in word painting.
~ Webster's Unabridged Dictionary of the
English Language
 Pastel,
Acrylics, and Colored Pencils combined |
Snobbism in the arts is nothing new. Some people will tell you that oils are
the only valid medium for realistic paintings. That Colored Pencil, Digital, and other
Realistic Painting and Drawing Media are not valid for "real" art. Young
artists, Don't let them bother you. Their forerunners used to condemn Pastels before they
gained acceptance and called them "crayons" when Johann Alexander Thiele
(1685-1752) invented them. Mercilessly disrespectful art critics of the time
could not stop the Experimentalists no matter how viciously
they attacked and derided
them. "Crayon-painting" as it was called in England was practiced
early on by
persecuted pioneers in Switzerland and many other nations. What a debt we owe to these
master artists who refused to knuckle under to the pressure of those short-sighted critics
during those historic and experimental times. It took until 1870 with the founding of the
"Societe` Des Pastellistes" in France that respect came at last to these
heroic & immortal visual artists.
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In England the liberation of the Pastellists from slight regard and
undeserved disrespect came with the first exhibition of "The Pastel Society" at
the Grosvenor Gallery in 1880. Pastel Painters like Mary Cassat and others from
America and other nations forever silenced the snobs with their masterworks and
gained recognition at long last for Thiele's invention as a valid art medium. I am
persuaded that history will repeat itself. Like Pastels, I believe these wonderful
new colored pencils and even Digital Realistic Art Media will one day
receive the
recognition they deserve as powerful mediums of artistic expression just as pastel
paintings did. What is your definition of art? Have you thought about it?
Mine is: "anything that makes you feel or
think."
Consider dancing...
it can be a little skip in the step or rise to the level of the incomparable Russian
Ballet. Did you know that just the materials alone for a single oil painting cost up to a
thousand dollars these days? Even paying the artist less than minimum wage no one but the
super rich can afford them anymore. Something's got to give. Realistic paintings in oil
have been highly prized for centuries and the appeal and following of realistic art is
undiminished to this day. Oil paintings featuring Abstract Art and Realistic Art are
generally the most treasured form of all the visual art media and with good reason. But
snobbish art critics favoring abstract art have declared that realistic
paintings, or illustrations are not art for a century. With so many
representationalist paintings by so many immortal master artists hanging in the
Louvre, the Hermitage, and the British Museum and others I think the disrespect for
realistic illustrators that dominated the 20th century is academically ridiculous as well
as vain and intolerant, insisting theirs is the only valid opinion. What is your
definition of Art? I believe almost any form of human expression can be raised to the
level of "high art" especially visual art and Realistic illustration...
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The detail reveals Realistic art and abstract art
combined
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By my own definition of art, which is:" anything that makes you feel or
think" most abstract paintings are not "real art" to me personally,
because abstract paintings usually neither make me feel or think, usually focusing
obsessively on technique and avoiding any coherent content. I usually draw a complete
blank mentally and emotionally when I look at them. In 1979 the Houston Metropolitan
Museum of Art displayed a triptych of 3 giant paintings they
paid fifty thousand
dollars for- three blank white canvasses entitled "untitled". Then there
was "The incredible new artistic Genius" with an I.Q. of 62
...Congo the chimpanzee with his gala New York art exhibition...an elaborate prank played on the Snobbish American
Art critics about a generation ago by research scientists in the field of primatology.
Imagine how upset they were when he created one of his "ingenious masterpieces"
right before their eyes.
( My Source for this is the Time Life Science Library volume
entitled "The Primates". )
|
Art education has been almost completely removed from American
Schools as a result of generations of this kind of fabulous nonsense contributing to
America's cultural illiteracy crisis. Now, the works of Leonardo Da Vinci,
Michelangelo,
and other notables are being removed from school libraries. After generations of
this, most American college graduates today cannot name even one living visual artist,
abstract or realistic.
There is no way that mandating more math, requiring
more reading, or scheduling more science will replace what we have lost as a
culture.
What is your definition of Art?
~HDJ
*****
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| Note:
Abstract Paintings by Congo the Chimpanzee outsold Warhol and
Renoir by over 25,000 dollars in June 2005 at a London art
auction. Born in 1954, Congo created more than 400 drawings and
paintings between the ages of two and four. He died in 1964 of
tuberculosis. There is no precedent for this kind of sale. |
Essay Two : The Rebirth
of Realism
More thoughts on realistic art
yesterday and today by the artist
Art History has entered a new era
with the birth of Art Numérica, or digital art media in the 21st
century. Artists never stop exploring with mediums. Artists have been developing
techniques, experimenting with different tools since at least twenty- five thousand years
ago, when the first artist picked up a charred stick and scratched a picture out on the
wall of his cave. You'd think everything would have been tried by now, but it hasn't.
Exploring new mediums this very day is just as exciting, just as full of freshness and
newness as it ever was.
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|
The creation of Realistic art has
been the goal of most artists since the dawn of civilization. Realistic art was the
pride of ancient Greece. The world's greatest museums are full of realistic art. Realistic
art WAS art until the advent of the abstract expressionist movement in the twentieth
century. The coming of the camera in the nineteenth century changed realistic art forever.
Suddenly, realistic art was not the only way to create realism in portraits and historical
records. The work of the realistic artist was suddenly made into an expensive luxury. The
political power of the realistic artist was broken and they were no longer an
indispensable member of society. Hostility to the creators of realistic
art goes back to ancient times and the jealousy of advisers to the Pharaohs
and others who
were not able to spend as much time with their rulers as their portraitists. Although with
the aid of photographs, realistic art achieved levels of excellence undreamed of, the
realistic art movement of the late nineteenth century was short. |
|
None of
these people earning their living creating realistic art could compete with the speed and
low cost of photographic portraiture. Determined to survive, great realistic artists
like Pablo Picasso ingeniously turned inward and began to explore things that could not be
photographed in a new school of art, abstract expressionism. The day of the fine art
superstars had arrived. It was now largely just a hobby to abstract and realistic artists
alike. Illustration, because of advances in printing technology
enabled an elite few to
earn a living with their realistic art. These illustrators working in realistic art
media were condemned and ridiculed in much the same way Europe's great symphonic
composers were condemned for working in motion pictures after fleeing the
Nazis during
World War Two. The rift between realistic and abstract art grew wider and wider. The
universities and key media usually sided with the abstract camp and derided anyone working
in any realistic art media declaring boldly that realistic art was not "real"
art. Immortal giants of realistic art such as Maxfield Parrish were mistreated their
entire lives. They were accused of selling out for creating beautiful pieces of realistic
fine art to earn a living. The attitude that the true artist must suffer and starve and
die in poverty became a rule. There were the Abstract art superstars, the professional
realistic illustrators, and the hobbyists who, although cut off from gainful employment
and social influence still recognized their artistic gifts as a calling rather than a
profession. |
Early abstract art masters proved themselves as realistic
artists before delving into realms of the intangible. They had to do this at that time to
prove themselves because of the challenges they faced from the
establishment for going
against the status quo. In the latter part of the 20th century, realistic artists like HDJ
were challenged to do abstract art to prove themselves as shown in the example above
(Deirdre of the sorrows). Later realistic art training was abandoned in most schools and
things like splattering paint in fits of rage were deemed more than enough. By the
end of the 20th century something as destructive and ridiculous
as nailing a pack of
cigarettes to a shoe was considered fine art but not realistic paintings. Fashions in art
have often been as silly as fashions in ladies hats. As the century drew to a close,
many people had had enough. The realistic revolt was at hand. The rebirth of realism was
fueled by the advent of the digital era. Now, for the first time in almost two centuries,
an artist or illustrator could earn a decent living again with his realistic art. This is
historic. Realistic art is not going to go away, especially
now that photography has
truly merged with traditional realistic visual art. Photography comes from the Greek words
meaning "painting with light". Now with the advent of digital media the
capability of realistic art has become almost limitless, truly, "painting with
light". The merger of all the world's art forms to realize the potential of motion
pictures has come now to still realistic art media. This website for example, combines
music, prose, poetry, photography and traditional realistic art media to create an
experience beyond merely looking at realistic paintings.
The
twenty- first century is already seeing a new renaissance
in the arts because of the world
wide web. There has never been anything like it. Abstract art, computer art, photographic
art, and realistic art are continuing to be separate schools of art but are also blending
to create exciting new horizons. Although Digital art does offer completely new horizons
to the artist in the 21st century it does not mean the end of our time honored art
traditions. Instead, it offers additional ways to keep these traditions and schools of
thought fresh and alive. ~ HDJ
*****
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