This Art Gallery
has
been honored by more than
20,000,000 Unique Visitors
from the Four
Corners of the Earth:
My
Friends from around the world thus far :
|
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Canada, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Germany,
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Islands, Mexico,
and my
home, The United States of America...
|
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If your home is not listed here please
e-mail us and tell us where you're from...
info@howarddavidjohnson.com
*****
|
Thank You for Visiting the Paintings
of Greek & Roman Mythology Exhibit of Howard David Johnson...
All images copyright
1993-2008 Howard David Johnson all rights reserved.
*****
HOW DO WE
SORT OUT HISTORY AND MYTHOLOGY?
"As a professional Illustrator I am called upon to illustrate
Legends of History and Mythology, Fact and Fantasy, the Sacred and the Profane. In as much
as I have endeavored to sort them out accordingly, it has become one of the more
fascinating challenges I have ever faced."
A brief essay by H. D. Johnson |
|
|
As
a professional Illustrator I am called upon to illustrate Legends of History and
Mythology, Fact and Fantasy, the Sacred and the Profane. In as much as I have endeavored
to sort them out accordingly, it has become one of the more fascinating challenges I have
ever faced. As I am ever mentioning, the advances of science are constantly giving us a
clearer view of the past even causing Mythology to become History as in the case of the
Trojan Wars, the legendary Helen of Troy, and the Trojan Horse. The archaeological
excavations of Troy may prove the existence of the city of Troy and the Trojan War. They
in no way make The Iliad a history book however, because of the un-provable spiritual and
religious occurrences in the narrative. This sorting out of myth and legend
from history is no less difficult today because of their intertwining influences on one
another. |
Consider as a more
recent example of this problem, 20th century American President Theodore Roosevelt. He
lives in history because of his heroic charge up San Juan hill with his legendary
roughriders. When this story was printed in William Randolph Hearst's newspapers it
catapulted him to fame and ushered him into the White House as a glorious American War
Hero. Everyone has seen the paintings and statues of Teddy Roosevelt and his roughriders
dressed in khaki, mounted on horseback and charging fearlessly forward waving their
swords. In reality, it was a group of Heroic African American Buffalo Soldiers who took
San Juan Hill in spite of their heavy casualties. They did not wear khaki. They were not
mounted on horseback, but were foot soldiers in the same dark blue uniforms of the U.S.
cavalry as worn during the Indian Wars. Roosevelt's group actually took a nearby Hill
against light resistance but Hearst said that would not sell newspapers so he created an
American Myth. So as we see, here is something taught to children in schools as history is
just not true at all, but yet, this myth shaped the true history of the world in the
20th century and beyond.
If
Teddy Roosevelt had not been elected president, neither would his nephew, Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, who provided very real and crucial leadership during the Great Depression and
the Second World War. Neither would Theodore Roosevelt have built the Panama Canal or
established the conservation of our natural resources. So here we see Modern Myth not only
influencing, but creating History. In reality, I perceive Theodore Roosevelt was a much
greater president than history gives him credit for. Although it is true his kindness
created the "Teddy Bear", He really was also fit and trim, vigorous and active,
and a very tough president in his foreign policies. He was instrumental in America's
emergence as a world power. It is also true that he came from the upper upper class - old
money in New York with a background of great wealth and limitless luxury and chose to be
an outdoorsman, a cowboy, and soldier. When he was given office, he embraced the concept
of being a good Shepherd , of seeking justice for all Americans - for
this he was called a "traitor to his class".
Actually, he is the
savior of his class. In my estimation, it is President Theodore Roosevelt who is most
responsible for the end of the then imminent threat of communist revolution or takeover in
America. Throughout the early 20th century Socialist Revolutions were sweeping across the
globe. Conditions for the workers in America were appalling. Child Labor, dangerous
working conditions, ungodly long hours, degradation, and shockingly low pay. When Karl
Marx wrote his "Communist Manifesto" he never dreamed of an affluent MIDDLE
class. A middle class that is comfortable and savoring, life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness is not going to rise up in murderous anger and "Storm the Bastile".
What Global Communism could not contend with was America's happy and prosperous middle
class. Theodore Roosevelt practically invented America's affluent middle class and
eliminated the threat of Communist revolution in America. Although he was well
loved, he was also hated and caught tremendous heat from the wealthy elite for sharing a
small portion of their wealth with the common man. He saved them from a Second American
Revolution by customizing capitalism to a kinder, gentler form than the horrors of the
late 19th century. Like General Winfield Scott, who won The American Civil War before it
started, he defeated his foes with an idea. If the Robber Barons had had their way, their
greed could well have caused America to fall to communism. Today, we have a new generation
of robber barons but no Teddy to stand up for the little guys. I feel the true history
about American President Theodore Roosevelt is more amazing than the myth, but they are
interwoven and inseparable, without the one, we would not have the other. He was both a
glorious and a tragic figure. As a leader and as a man I believe he is badly
underestimated. It was only when his beloved son, nicknamed "Quinnykins" died
fighting in World War One that he finally saw through all the myths and glamour to see the
awful truth about war face on. He never got over his guilt for glorifying war to his son.
We could all learn a lot from his experiences.
War costs money...trillions of dollars.
War takes human lives...millions of them! War makes children old, breaks parent's hearts,
kills morale. War destroys cities, art treasures, civilization! The first world war alone
cost thirty million lives and 4 trillion dollars when adjusted to the buying power of
modern U.S. dollars. With the money at the time we could have built a three bedroom two
bath house furnished with fine hardwood furniture on five acres of quality land for every
family in The United States, Canada, Australia, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France,
Belgium, Germany and Russia. There would have been enough left to build and stock a first
class library and a proper university in every town of 20,000 people or more. Out of the
balance we could pay the salaries for life of 125,000 teachers and 125,000 nurses. The
remaining balance could have bought 1919 Belgium and France and everything in them.
I see History as an endless waltz. Three beats over and over. War, Peace, and Revolution.
Three beats over and over in an endless cycle of death, destruction, and regeneration. An
Endless Waltz... and those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to dance
this deadly waltz and pay this Frightful price for War. As modern technology such as jet
aircraft and thermonuclear missiles make the world smaller & more dangerous everyday,
tolerating each other's racial, social, & religious differences & living together
in peace has now become key to the continued survival of mankind through the 21st
century...
~H D Johnson MMIII
*****
ABOUT
THE ARTIST
"Those who are enamoured of
practice without science are like a pilot who goes into a ship without rudder or compass
and never has any certainty where he is going. Practice should always be based upon a
sound knowledge of theory, of which perspective is the guide and gateway, and without it
nothing can be done well in any kind of painting."
| Howard David Johnson is a
contemporary visual artist and photographer with a background in |
| the natural sciences and
history. He works in a wide variety of media ranging from traditional |
| oils, pastels and
others to cutting edge digital media. He loves mixing media. This site features |
| examples of
his Realistic Art, including illustration, photography, experimentalism, and fine
art. |
 |
The
various galleries linked to by the icons above show many examples of His
Realistic Art, and are grouped by theme rather than media. There are also sample
illustrations from his upcoming books on Celtic Myth and Legend and World Myth &
Legend. Since boyhood he has passionately copied the old masters. To create his work,
he usually starts with a thematic concept followed by a rough realistic pencil
sketch, then followed by his photography, often traveling to find suitable scenes and
locations and then working in his Photography studio with live models from his sketches.
He then assembles a variety of elements which are realistic and original. As a boy he
dedicated his life to art in 1960. From 1965- 1999 he used xeroxes and tracings to make
his preliminary photo montages. This is patterned after the manner used by Maxfield
Parrish and other 19th century notables. Beginning with a tracing, he then draws or paints
from these complex original Computer Photo Montages. Many of these are on display on this
web and slated for future completion in a variety of realistic traditional art media. As
this happens, the finished work is substituted in the exhibit. Recently he shot hundreds
of aerial photos of clouds at marvelous angles and perspectives and also looking down on
the mighty mountains, rivers, and deserts of the American west while flying from Texas to
Oregon and back for dynamic source material for realistic flying scenes in upcoming
paintings , drawings, and pictures. |
| His
favorite medium for realistic art is colored pencil because of the high speed and low
expense, and people began expressing difficulty in telling his colored pencil drawing from
photographs in the early 1980's. In the last 35 plus years he has also mastered
Oils, Pastels, Acrylics, Watercolors, Inks, Scratchboard, Gouache, Photography, and the
highly controversial digital media ( Art Numérica )
. As a commercial illustrator Johnson has not only used the
computer to create art but has been involved in the development of computer imaging
software. Working in a realistic style inspired by classic illustrators HDJ is deeply
rooted and grounded in the Greco-Roman artistic tradition, Feeling that with realistic
art, the human form is the ultimate arena for artistic expression. His lifelong dream came
true when his Traditional Realistic Art was exhibited in the British Museum in London
England in 1996. His mixed media has also been displayed in numerous other ones since
such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Having achieved international acclaim as a
traditional visual artist he discovered digital media ( Art
Numérica
) in 1999. Because of his passion for realistic art and photography he
elected to embrace it and joyfully be a part of this historic era in the visual arts as a
21st century realistic visual artist. |
 |
| 
( Unblended Spectracolor
pencils on # 400 Strathmore Bristol board ) |
Since
1972 when he began his career as a scientific illustrator for the University of Texas he
has earned his living illustrating all kinds of books, magazines, CD covers, and all sorts
of games, greeting cards, calendars, portraits, murals and the like with his contemporary
realistic art... HDJ's Realistic Art has appeared in every major
bookstore chain and fantasy gaming shop in The United States and has been used in
educational texts and magazines all over the world. This site features realistic paintings
& pictures for the twenty-first Century including some oil paintings, as
well as lots of other exciting media such as colored pencil drawings, pastel paintings,
acrylic paintings, gouache paintings, watercolor paintings, and pencil drawings, and also
featuring studio, field, & aerial photography, digital painting and
photo-montage and all these media mixed in an assortment of experimental
combinations...Working in a wide variety of media to create his realistic art he offers
his customers a host of payment and product options. He delivers the rights to these
custom made copyright free illustrations and old fashioned customer service when he does
work-for-hire. |
HDJ's Mythic Art creations take their inspiration from the realistic paintings of the old
masters just as West Side Story came from Romeo and Juliet. Our shared cultural heritage,
great works of art, literature, music and drama, cinema, folk tales and fairy tales are
all drawn upon again and again by the creators of new works. These works in the public
domain are both a catalyst and a wellspring for creativity and innovation. Where would
Walt Disney be without the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, or Victor Hugo? Where
would Aaron Copeland have been without American folk music? Thomas Nast's Santa Claus
without traditional images of Father Christmas? Pablo Picasso without African art? Public
domain appropriators, one and all. HDJ accepts select commissions to paint custom oil
paintings with down payments starting at only one thousand dollars. He grants permission
for most educational purposes simply for the asking. To use his existing realistic art
works outside the classroom he offers low cost license offers starting around $100.00.
Use the e-mail links above or below
to contact him...
*****
Music
by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( 1840- 1893) - "Swan Lake"
All paintings, pictures,
& text (c) 1993- 2007 Howard David Johnson All rights reserved
Thank You for Visiting the World
of Mythical Art...
***** |
|
Bonus Section:
Personal Opinion Essays on Realistic Art
yesterday and today by the artist.
In addition to his mastery of
traditional media, Howard David Johnson now combines drawing, painting,
photography, and digital media with more than thirty years of experience in these fields
to create his Realistic Art Numérica in 21st century
paintings and pictures. Did you know the Greek word "Photography" means
"Painting with Light"? Today with the advent of computers it truly lives up to
it's name. Due to developments in Art and Technology, a broader definition of painting is
needed than that which is found in common usage. Announcing Art Numérica
-an exciting merger of traditional visual art and cutting edge
technology... a new art form for the twenty- first century... Art Numérica is not
limited to realistic art but also offers limitless horizons for everything from cartoons
to abstractions. It is the most dramatic development in the visual arts since the
Renaissance. In the words of Al Jolson in the movie world's first talking picture"
You ain't seen nothin' yet!"
Essay One:
"THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME..."
(A Brief essay
dealing with attitudes toward Traditional Realistic Paintings, Pastels, Colored Pencils
and Art Numérica) |
"Painting, in art, the
action of laying colour on a surface, or the representation of objects by this means.
Considered one of the fine arts"
~Encyclopaedia Britannica.
"Painting. noun. 1.) The act
or employment of laying on colors or paints. 2.) The art of forming figures or objects in
colors on canvas or any other surface, or the art of representing to the eye by means of
figures and colors any object; the work of an illustrator or painter. 3.) A picture; a
likeness or resemblance in shape or colors. 4.) Colors laid on. 5.) Delineation that
raises a vivid image in the mind; as in word painting.
~ Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
of the English Language
 Pastel, Acrylics, and Colored Pencils combined |
Snobbism in the arts is nothing new. Some people will tell
you that oils are the only valid medium for realistic paintings. That Colored Pencil,
Digital, and other Realistic Painting and Drawing Media are not valid for
"real" art. Young artists, Don't let them bother you. Their forerunners used to
condemn Pastels before they gained acceptance and called them "crayons" when
Johann Alexander Thiele (1685-1752) invented them. Mercilessly disrespectful
art critics of the time could not stop the Experimentalists no matter how
viciously they
attacked and derided them. "Crayon-painting" as it was called in England was
practiced early on by persecuted pioneers in Switzerland and many other nations. What a
debt we owe to these master artists who refused to knuckle under to the pressure of those
short-sighted critics during those historic and experimental times. It took until 1870
with the founding of the "Societe` Des Pastellistes" in France that respect
came at last to these heroic & immortal visual artists. |
In England the liberation of the Pastellists from slight regard and
undeserved disrespect came with the first exhibition of "The Pastel Society" at
the Grosvenor Gallery in 1880. Pastel Painters like Mary Cassat and others from
America and other nations forever silenced the snobs with their masterworks and
gained recognition at long last for Thiele's invention as a valid art medium. I am
persuaded that history will repeat itself. Like Pastels, I believe these wonderful
new colored pencils and even Digital Realistic Art Media will one day
receive the
recognition they deserve as powerful mediums of artistic expression just as pastel
paintings did. What is your definition of art? Have you thought about it?
Mine is: "anything that
makes you feel or think."
Consider
dancing... it can be a little skip in the step or rise to the level of the incomparable
Russian Ballet. Did you know that just the materials alone for a single oil painting cost
up to a thousand dollars these days? Even paying the artist less than minimum wage no one
but the super rich can afford them anymore. Something's got to give. Realistic paintings
in oil have been highly prized for centuries and the appeal and following of realistic art
is undiminished to this day. Oil paintings featuring Abstract Art and Realistic Art are
generally the most treasured form of all the visual art media and with good reason. But
snobbish art critics favoring abstract art have declared that realistic
paintings, or illustrations are not art for a century. With so many
representationalist paintings by so many immortal master artists hanging in the
Louvre, the Hermitage, and the British Museum and others I think the disrespect for
realistic illustrators that dominated the 20th century is academically ridiculous as well
as vain and intolerant, insisting theirs is the only valid opinion. What is your
definition of Art? I believe almost any form of human expression can be raised to the
level of "high art" especially visual art and Realistic illustration... |
The detail reveals Realistic
art and abstract art combined |
By my own definition of art, which is: "anything that makes you feel or
think" most abstract paintings are not "real art" to me personally,
because abstract paintings usually neither make me feel or think, usually focusing
obsessively on technique and avoiding any coherent content. I usually draw a complete
blank mentally and emotionally when I look at them. In 1979 the Houston Metropolitan
Museum of Art displayed a triptych of 3 giant paintings they paid fifty thousand
dollars for- three blank white canvasses entitled "untitled". Then there
was "The incredible new artistic Genius" with an I.Q. of 62
...Congo the chimpanzee
with his gala New York art exhibition...an elaborate prank played on the Snobbish American
Art critics about a generation ago by research scientists in the field of primatology.
Imagine how upset they were when he created one of his "ingenious masterpieces"
right before their eyes.
( My Source for this is the Time Life
Science Library volume entitled "The Primates". ) |
Art education has been almost completely removed from American
Schools as a result of generations of this kind of fabulous nonsense contributing to
America's cultural illiteracy crisis. Now, the works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo,
and other notables are being removed from school libraries. After generations of
this, most American college graduates today cannot name even one living visual artist,
abstract or realistic.
There is no way that mandating
more math, requiring more reading, or scheduling more science will replace what we have
lost as a culture.
What is your definition of Art?
~HDJ
***** |
| Note:
Abstract Paintings by Congo the Chimpanzee outsold Warhol and Renoir
by over 25,000 dollars in June 2005 at a London art auction. Born in
1954, Congo created more than 400 drawings and paintings between the
ages of two and four. He died in 1964 of tuberculosis. There is no
precedent for this kind of sale. |
Essay Two : The Rebirth
of Realism
More thoughts on realistic art
yesterday and today by the artist
Art History
has entered a new era with the birth of Art Numérica, or digital
art media in the 21st century. Artists never stop exploring with mediums. Artists have
been developing techniques, experimenting with different tools since at least twenty- five
thousand years ago, when the first artist picked up a charred stick and scratched a
picture out on the wall of his cave. You'd think everything would have been tried by now,
but it hasn't. Exploring new mediums this very day is just as exciting, just as full of
freshness and newness as it ever was.
|
Gates
of Fire by Stephen Pressfield (Danish Cover) |
The creation
of Realistic art has been the goal of most artists since the dawn of civilization.
Realistic art was the pride of ancient Greece. The world's greatest museums are full of
realistic art. Realistic art WAS art until the advent of the abstract expressionist
movement in the twentieth century. The coming of the camera in the nineteenth century
changed realistic art forever. Suddenly, realistic art was not the only way to create
realism in portraits and historical records. The work of the realistic artist was suddenly
made into an expensive luxury. The political power of the realistic artist was broken and
they were no longer an indispensable member of society. Hostility to the
creators of realistic art goes back to ancient times and the jealousy of advisers to the
Pharaohs and others who were not able to spend as much time with their rulers as their
portraitists. Although with the aid of photographs, realistic art achieved
levels of excellence undreamed of, the realistic art movement of the late nineteenth
century was short. |
| None
of these people earning their living creating realistic art could compete with the speed
and low cost of photographic portraiture. Determined to survive, great realistic
artists like Pablo Picasso ingeniously turned inward and began to explore things that could
not be photographed in a new school of art, abstract expressionism. The day of the fine
art superstars had arrived. It was now largely just a hobby to abstract and realistic
artists alike. Illustration, because of advances in printing technology
enabled an elite
few to earn a living with their realistic art. These illustrators working in realistic art
media were condemned and ridiculed in much the same way Europe's great symphonic
composers were condemned for working in motion pictures after fleeing the nazis during
World War Two. The rift between realistic and abstract art grew wider and wider. The
universities and key media usually sided with the abstract camp and derided anyone working
in any realistic art media declaring boldly that realistic art was not "real"
art. Immortal giants of realistic art such as Maxfield Parrish were mistreated their
entire lives. They were accused of selling out for creating beautiful pieces of realistic
fine art to earn a living. The attitude that the true artist must suffer and starve and
die in poverty became a rule. There were the Abstract art superstars, the professional
realistic illustrators, and the hobbyists who, although cut off from gainful employment
and social influence still recognized their artistic gifts as a calling rather than a
profession. |
Early abstract art masters proved themselves as realistic
artists before delving into realms of the intangible. They had to do this at that time to
prove themselves because of the challenges they faced from the establishment for going
against the status quo. In the latter part of the 20th century, realistic artists like HDJ
were challenged to do abstract art to prove themselves as shown in the example above
(Deirdre of the sorrows). Later realistic art training was abandoned in most schools and
things like splattering paint in fits of rage were deemed more than enough. By the
end of the 20th century something as destructive and ridiculous as nailing a pack of
cigarettes to a shoe was considered fine art but not realistic paintings. Fashions in art
have often been as silly as fashions in ladies hats. As the century drew to a close,
many people had had enough. The realistic revolt was at hand. The rebirth of realism was
fueled by the advent of the digital era. Now, for the first time in almost two centuries,
an artist or illustrator could earn a decent living again with his realistic art. This is
historic. Realistic art is not going to go away, especially now that photography has
truly merged with traditional realistic visual art. Photography comes from the Greek words
meaning "painting with light". Now with the advent of digital media the
capability of realistic art has become almost limitless, truly, "painting with
light". The merger of all the world's art forms to realize the potential of motion
pictures has come now to still realistic art media. This website for example, combines
music, prose, poetry, photography and traditional realistic art media to create an
experience beyond merely looking at realistic paintings.
The twenty- first century is already seeing a new renaissance in the arts
because of the world wide web. There has never been anything like it.
Abstract art,
computer art, photographic art, and realistic art are continuing to be separate schools of
art but are also blending to create exciting new horizons. Although Digital art does offer
completely new horizons to the artist in the 21st century it does not mean the end of our
time honored art traditions. Instead, it offers additional ways to keep these traditions
and schools of thought fresh and alive. ~ HDJ
*****
This Gallery is dedicated to John William Waterhouse
Music
by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( 1840- 1893) - "Swan Lake"
All
these images & text are legally copyrighted & were registered
with the U.S. Library of Congress Office of Copyright in 2004 by the
author, Howard David Johnson All rights reserved worldwide. Permission for
many legal non-commercial uses is freely available by simply contacting
the author or visiting www.howarddavidjohnson.com/permission.htm
*****
Thank You for Visiting the Paintings
of Greek & Roman Mythology Exhibit of Howard David Johnson...
***** |
