Look, A Design

This week I picked another image from Workbook Illustration volume 26 this time Dan Cosgrove is the creator. I chose 2 separate pieces because they weren't connected but felt very cohesive, their color palettes work on either piece, they have a similar style which are both indicative of being made by the same artist. The lion is particularly interesting due to its ability to keep the focus even though he is looking off the screen. This I attribute to the line of yellow that is his highlight, this design may not look like it but it is treading a fine line. If the yellow was any more vivid then it would be heavy on that side, while if there was a little bit of detail in the lion's eye we wouldn't be able to keep our eye on the page.
The Tuscany piece isn't treading a fine line quite as much  but there is still a balancing act being performed. There are three dark, huge bunches of grapes on the right but that isn't keeping us from looking at the little house in the middle of no where. There are a few things at play here; firstly the little house is where all the information that is important is, next there is a literal cue, just above the little house there is a bunch of grapes that ends up pointing directly to the focal point. Finally there the most visually calling color is what makes the house's roof.

First Blog Post

Artist’

This image was scanned from Workbook Illustration Volume 26. This was the first volume in this series that did not show its age immediately. That being said there was a theme across the vast majority of the pieces in this volume. They all looked painted with the same kind of fuzzy brush or filter as this one.
This piece stuck out to me because of the dynamic angle of the camera. the ropes are the most definite form of line in this piece but not the only instance. The pirates are all connected with implied lines. The pirate with the accordion is looking back at the rest of the group which the one with the white bandanna is pointing directly up to the captain who points back to the accordion player. Another formal element obvious in this piece is the unity and this is a very particular type of unity, most of the time unity requires the subject to be the same color or the same shape but the unity here is expressed with their faces. They look like a tough and rugged band of baddies while at the same time looking nothing alike. The final formal point i would like to emphasize is the balance and this is balanced because of the huge white mass that is the surprisingly busy-looking cloud and sky combination. There is enough happening in the sky with the birds and the tone variation in the clouds that is roughly equates to the amount of busy-ness of the ship with pirates.
Image source

Helquist, Brett. Roger, the Jolly Pirate. 1996. Medium. Parkland College Library, Champaign.