When I grow up I want to be N. C. Wyeth
What inspires our teachers?
Here is what Christina says...
1 - smallSHOP Artist, Christina Tonges
2 - "Launcelot and Guenevere" from "The Boy's King Arthur"
3- "The Legends of Charlemagne"
4- "Robinson Crusoe"
Growing up my father read us classic novels before bed. A favorite of mine was The Three Musketeers (I even had a hamster named after the conniving spy Milady). My imagination was nourished by swashbuckling adventures like Robin Hood, King Arthur and Robinson Crusoe. I loved to stare into space, inhaling the crisp muskiness of an old book, and conjure images from the narratives. But the real thrill was arriving on one of the glossy illustrations sprinkled throughout the book. So many of these books featured the gorgeous and compelling illustrations of N. C. Wyeth. With a single image he captured the mood of a complex narrative.
When I first arrived in art school I was convinced that I wanted to be an illustrator. I imagined cranking out large scale oil paintings to be later painstakingly color matched and faithfully reproduced by master lithographers. My rude awakening came in the first week of Illustration 101 where we crosshatched the shadows in our little pen and ink cartoons. I realized that, yes, I wanted to be an illustrator but unfortunately I wanted to be the kind of illustrator that has been extinct for the last century.
Carrying the torch of Wyeth draftsmanship and genius Andrew Wyeth, the son of N. C., became one of the most famous painters of the 20th century with paintings like "Christina's World." Jamie Wyeth, N. C.'s grandson, is still capturing true to life nuances in his breathtaking paintings.
When I first arrived in art school I was convinced that I wanted to be an illustrator. I imagined cranking out large scale oil paintings to be later painstakingly color matched and faithfully reproduced by master lithographers. My rude awakening came in the first week of Illustration 101 where we crosshatched the shadows in our little pen and ink cartoons. I realized that, yes, I wanted to be an illustrator but unfortunately I wanted to be the kind of illustrator that has been extinct for the last century.
Carrying the torch of Wyeth draftsmanship and genius Andrew Wyeth, the son of N. C., became one of the most famous painters of the 20th century with paintings like "Christina's World." Jamie Wyeth, N. C.'s grandson, is still capturing true to life nuances in his breathtaking paintings.
5 - "freyja"-Christina Tonges, 2011
My childhood wouldn't have been complete without these illustrations and
I think they speak to the adventurer in all of us.
What is inspiring you?
