Boy this one was a toughie. I was once again challenged by my pal to do a new list, of the top 10 favorite artists of all time. Not exclusively confined to comics, painting or any sort of media, just all encompassing. And wow was it tough. I tried to stay well rounded to all sorts of "sides" of me and my personality. I forced myself to exclude two things: Writers and Musicians. While I'd consider doing single lists on those alone. I really confined myself to painting, sculpture, illustration and film. And even film is stretching it. But the ones I picked aren't simple film directors, as they are ARTISTS. So that fits my personal defination. So lets go and in no order:
10- Gil Elvgren - The king of "cheesecake" pinups. This dude had it down to a science and each one of his images is iconic and sexy all the same.
9- John William Waterhouse - I love this guy's paintings. The dude could paint women! And his painting "The Lady of Shallot" is one of my absolute favorite paintings of all time. Check out his work. the depth in each painting alone is staggaring.
8- Adam Hughes - To be truthful, I have just discovered his work over the last three years and since then, I am in awe of him. Even his close friends are in awe. The dude is just amazing. I've met the man and he's awesome in person. Just completely humble and down to earth and a huger geek than I am. Something very comforting in that. If only had a fraction of the talent and skill that he had.
7-Jim Lee - I fell in love with him on Xmen back in the day and still love his work. Although, being an "indie" artist, I am not supposed to, right? But there's a part of me that still loves that old style that seems so familiar. He's not in my personal top favorites of artists that influence my style currently but credit where credit is due, he got my attention back in the day. And I still pick up anything he draws. Its just pretty to look at.
6-Salvador Dali - Weird doesn't begin to describe this man. He dabbled in everything from films to paintings. He would sit in water for hours as a kid. He would hold a fork over a plate while sleeping and whatever he was dreaming when he dropped the fork and it woke him up, thats what he would paint. Layers of subtext and thought went into everything he did. If only I could be that deep.
5-Drew Struzan - I think every artist wants to be like him in a way. Although, I know his methods now, but back in the day, it inspired me. How could this guy capture likeness so well? He was a god and always will be to me.
4-Chris Weston - A guy whose work I am still trying to gather but this is a cat who never bullshits his work. Every comic panel he does is filled to the brim with detail. And he's got a style of figure rendering using tons of folds and shadow. Its just great and super inspiring. When I am drawing a boring panel, and am tempted to just let the background be, I think of Weston and want to draw more. The bastard makes me work harder! :)
3-Orson Welles - A magician. A genius. A god. He wrote and made the greatest film of all time and some other really great ones as well and died misunderstood. This dude is one of my idols.
2-Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni - Or simply Michelangelo. The greatest painter who ever lived. Period. The best of that era. Fuck Leonardo. Put anything Leonardo did against the Pieta, David or the friggin Sistine Chapel! See how that stacks up!
1-Stanley Kubrick - I've wrote college papers analyzing his films. Each shot was painstakingly set up and each moment no matter how small was done with 20-100 different takes. Perfectionist. Genius. Artist. Insane. He did a film in practically every genre and each one he did, OWNED that genre. The Shining, best horror. 2001, best Sci Fi ever. Barry Lyndon, best period piece. Full Metal, Best war and so on. But it was not always serious. He did have a bit of fun and a lot of tits. His films are slow and build slow, but you feel them. They drag you in. Just beautiful to observe, even when Alex is doing dirty deeds in Clockwork Orange. A master of the arts. A true defination of an artist.
There. Whew. Tough one.
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