1 post tagged “pushmepullyou”
I was talking about Charley Harper's work to someone in my lab, and she said she didn't like it. Too simplistic and dated-looking, she said, and went on to list a number of bird artists whose work she preferred - people like Pieter D. Prall and Kim Diment.
Now, to be perfectly clear, I think Diment and Prall are both amazing artists, and I find their portfolios both inspiring and intimidating. It's just that I think my friend was missing the point when she said that these other artists were better than Harper. It's cool if she prefers more realistic paintings, but that doesn't make the work she likes better than the work she doesn't like.
When I was in grade school, the "How to Draw" series of books was really popular. In theory, you would start by sketching a bunch of boxes and ovals, add details and end up with a perfectly realistic cat or racecar or horse or dinosaur. In practice, most of us ended up with a beautifully-detailed horse that looked like a sway-backed dachshund.
Just because something looks simple doesn't mean it's trivial or easy to do.
Now, to be perfectly clear, I think Diment and Prall are both amazing artists, and I find their portfolios both inspiring and intimidating. It's just that I think my friend was missing the point when she said that these other artists were better than Harper. It's cool if she prefers more realistic paintings, but that doesn't make the work she likes better than the work she doesn't like.
When I was in grade school, the "How to Draw" series of books was really popular. In theory, you would start by sketching a bunch of boxes and ovals, add details and end up with a perfectly realistic cat or racecar or horse or dinosaur. In practice, most of us ended up with a beautifully-detailed horse that looked like a sway-backed dachshund.
Just because something looks simple doesn't mean it's trivial or easy to do.
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I wanted to end by tossing up a link to pushmepullyou design - even though I think Harper's work is seriously undervalued right now, a lot more of us are prepared to drop $30 on a print than $300. Eleanor Grosch's midcentury-inspired animal prints are just so great.
