The Art of Story 1

The Art of Story 1

The Art Of The Story Illustration Collection was presented for a public display at the Lilburn Arts Alliance Spring Show in Lilburn, Ga.  Lilburn is a suburb that is located in the northeast approximately 26 miles from Atlanta, Georgia, USA.  I am a member of this Arts Alliance and all of our exhibits in the past couple of years since the arts alliance was formed have been traditional art shows with mostly paintings, and maybe a few displays of pottery and hand blown glass.  There have been a few questions in the past of what could actually be displayed at these shows.  What fits into the category of fine art?  What is the definition?

The Art of Story 12

The Art of Story 12

I thought the best way to determine this would be to look up the definition of fine art.  The definition states that fine art is creative art, especially visual art, whose products are to be appreciated or solely for their imaginative, aesthetic, or  intellectual content.  The second definition listed states that fine art is an activity requiring great skill or accomplishment.  The Free Dictionary  offers several definitions for fine art including:

“1. (Art Terms) art produced chiefly for its aesthetic value, as opposed to applied art
2. (Art Terms) Also called: beaux arts (often plural) any of the fields in which such art is produced, such as painting, sculpture, and engraving”
Most of my life I have painted traditionally paintings using traditional mediums such as watercolor, acrylics, collage etc.  In the past few years I have also been studying and practicing illustration for children’s picture books.  I have noticed that this there seems to be a divide on where illustration falls into the category of the arts.  Illustration artists consider it fine art, fine artists don’t consider it as such.  This has puzzled me for a long time. I have come to my understanding of this debate.  Since I create both fine art paintings and illustrations, I know that illustration takes a much more calculated thought process.  The purpose of the visual presentation is not just for visual attraction but also to tell the story. When illustrating a picture book this is especially true ad takes a lot of thought.  I have great admiration for both painting and illustration and all crafts; anything handmade.  When the work is viewed you are looking at a sample of the artist’s soul brought through his mind and hands into the artwork.
The Art of Story 9

The Art of Story 9

With this appreciation of illustration, I found great interest in our fellow member of the Lilburn Arts Alliance, Andy Triemer’sThe Art Of The Story Illustration Collection.  He shared with me that he has always had a passion for illustration and started collecting it several years ago.  He carefully mounted his illustration collection for display for the show and it was greatly admired by many that visited. It was very interesting to see how carefully each illustration was created with the original pencil marks for registration for print.  Most of the prints are 50-60 years old and a lot has changed in the process of illustration over the years.  Digital print both in process and creation has made things easier for illustrators.  When these old illustrations are viewed it is with awe and gratitude of the old process coupled, and the thought of how far illustration has come in the last 50-60 years. Thanks to Andy Triemer for sharing his The Art Of The Story Illustration Collection.

 

 

Jan Watford
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Jan Watford

Manager at JCW Prism LLC
artist, author, illustrator
Jan Watford
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