| BELATED PRE-RAPHAELITE ART; Images of Beautiful Women in the spirit of and heavily influenced by the Pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood: The artist has spent a lifetime creating belated Pre-raphaelite Art. With a background in traditional media including oils, pastels and colored pencils, Howard David Johnson embraces leading edge digital media in the creation of his depictions of fantasy, folklore, mythology, legend, religion, and heroic history. Please be patient while the images load... | ||||||||||||||||||||
Since the times of the ancient Greeks, Art History records a relentless quest for Realism and artistic excellence in realistic paintings and sculpture. The masters of each generation strove to perfect their craft, then passed on the torch of their accumulated knowledge and skill to the next generation. The accomplishments and technological breakthroughs of one generation have often set new standards of excellence for the next.
Enter a world of Beauty and Imagination... "Helen of Troy" is my loving tribute to my favorite Pre-Raphaelite, John William Waterhouse and "Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra" is my salute to the great Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Jane Morris, his most beloved model...
"Faerie Guardians" 2006 is the artist's newest oil painting ( 20x16 oil on canvas) Featuring Shakespearean actor & model Jessica Spence as Titania. Because of the use of photography even Johnson's all-oil paintings can be termed mixed media. (Johnson's Pre-Raphaelite Art Books and Pre-Raphaelite Art posters are for sale following the exhibit...)
'The Lady Kriemhilde', 'The Fairy Circle' and 'Helen of Troy' MMIV were all rendered in Prismacolor Colored Pencils... 'Prismacolor Paintings' if you will - because this kind of picture is not at all what comes to mind when people hear the word 'drawing'. These relatively new soft oil based colored pencils are not the first Dry Painting Medium: the term 'Pastel Paintings' originated in the 17th century. The Prismacolors were also liquifed with solvents and applied with brush in certain areas. ( See the pencil version of Helen of Troy- a tribute to Master Pre-Raphaelite John William Waterhouse displayed large enough for close scrutiny at the very bottom of the page... currently it is being rendered in oil on canvas...)
Did you know that many of the breathtaking works of Pre-Raphaelite Art done in oil on canvas and panel in the 1800’s were declared not to be Art? Not just not fine art but not art at all. In London the Royal Academy had a very narrow view as to what qualified. No wonder Rossetti led a rebellion against them. The Rough treatment of many Pre-Raphaelite greats like the Hon. John Collier for what they termed "indecency" was unjust at best.
With a background in traditional media including oils, pastels and colored pencils, Howard David Johnson embraces leading edge digital media in the creation of his depictions of fantasy, folklore, mythology, legend, religion, and heroic history. He works in and mixes a wide variety of media * Oil paintings * Acrylic Paintings * Prismacolor Paintings * Drawings * Chalk & Oil Pastel Paintings * Photography * and Digital Artistry & Mixed Media * ALL HALLOWS EVE (Above) is a Prismacolor Painting & SLEEPING BEAUTY ( above) is an Oil Painting, While "The Lady of Shalott" (below) is a digital painting (AKA mixed media)
Original oil paintings are for sale, e-mail for info... info@howarddavidjohnson.com Thank you for Visiting... Your business, letters, & links are always welcome.
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... Your business, letters, & links are always welcome. ***** Thank you for visiting The Pre- Raphaelite Exhibition of 21st Century Artist Howard David Johnson... ... for more art, more galleries, information about the artist & essays by the artist keep scrolling down...
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Thank you for Visiting The Symbolist and Pre- Raphaelite Art Gallery of Howard David Johnson... ... for more art, more galleries, information about the artist & essays by the artist keep scrolling down...
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The Johnson Galleries Admission Free Non-Profit Virtual Realistic Art Galleries Site Map Deutsch Francais Italiano De Portugese Espanol Dutch Japanese Chinese The Realistic Art Galleries of Contemporary American Illustrator & Photographer Howard David Johnson Click on the Icons to visit the Fun & Educational Art Galleries : Including Realistic Art of Greek Mythology, Mythic art of Rome, Asia, The Celts, The Norsemen, and more ...Fairy and Dragon legends, The King Arthur Legends, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Paintings of Ancient Egypt and Babylon, Illustrations of Ancient Mystic Religious texts, War and Civilization from The Ancient Spartans and the Trojan Horse to World War Two, The World's Great Religions, free lessons in Realistic Art Technique and Essays on Realistic Art and Technology.
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Enter a world of Beauty and Imagination...
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| Fairy Paintings | Greek Mythology |
Celtic Mythology | World's Religions | Norse Mythology | Arthurian Legends |
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Asian Mythology |
Symbolist Art |
The Seven Wonders | Res Publica | Legends of History | Spartan Warriors |
POSTER ART ART BOOKS PUBLISHING LICENSES BUY ORIGINAL ART ART INSTRUCTION
info@howarddavidjohnson.com
Thank you for Visiting... Your business, letters, & links are always welcome.
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2006 Artist's Statement:
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A portrait of the artist in his painting studio as he is today. This July 2006 photo was taken by his youngest son Erich. |
"Did
you know that many of the breathtaking works Pre-Raphaelites were doing in oils
in the 1800’s were declared not to be Art? In London the Royal Academy had a
very narrow view as to what qualified. No wonder Rossetti led a rebellion
against them.
How about Styles? Impressionism is a great example; It was not enough that these institutions rejected the work, but they felt the need to destroy the person’s reputation and livelihood. Of course collectors pay millions for these Impressionistic paintings now, and Curators, Historians and Professional Art Critics all hail them as sensitive works of fine art. When Monet submitted his work to the Salon in Paris, they said" A monkey has gotten a hold of a set of paints" and would paint huge "R"s for "rejected on the back canvas. Rejecting him was not enough for them. They wanted to be sure he never sold another picture. They wanted to hurt him and his family for sick sadistic pleasure. He got really good at re-stretching his canvas with a double layer to cover up their hateful defacement of his original art. They saw themselves as powerful as the deadly committee for public safety in the French Revolution as far as the Art World went and delighted in "sending artists to the guillotine", so to speak. |
| These hateful little
petty tyrants were unable to keep his name out of the history books or to keep
his paintings for selling for millions of dollars. This is the treatment someone
who creates a new style gets, but developments in applied technology like
manufactured tube paints as opposed to hand mixed paints were violently rejected
by these types as well and they forcefully proclaimed anyone who used paints
from a tube was not a "real artist". Well, tube paints are pretty well
accepted now. So will photography and digital media in time. You probably
know how bad Photographers were treated, but now it is a respected Art
Form. I Remember the hateful things they said about Pastels and Mary Cassat, and
now Pastel Paintings are considered Fine Art and Mary Cassat’s works are
regarded as masterpieces. Now that snobs have Digital Artists to look down on,
Colored Pencils are starting to get some respect. Our day will come."
~ Howard David Johnson 2006
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Gorgeous Quality Reproductions for Publishing Licenses! Wholesale Collectible Fine Art Reprints, Posters, & Licenses for Commercial use in Books Cards Posters Magazines CDs DVDs Videos & more are available at reasonable rates. COMMERCIAL SIZE 300 DPI PRINTING MASTER FILES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ALL HIS FAIRY PAINTINGS - ANALOG OR DIGITAL COVER FORMATTING AVAILABLE E-MAIL FOR COURTEOUS & SPEEDY SERVICE
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ON SALE NOW: POSTER ART ART BOOKS PUBLISHING LICENSES ORIGINAL ART ART INSTRUCTION |
Thank you for visiting the Pre- Raphaelite and Symbolist Art Gallery of Howard David Johnson...
Bonus Section:
STYLE and TECHNIQUE "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 |
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Click this image for more about The Artist |
The Johnson Galleries exhibit many examples of his belated Pre-raphaelite Art, mostly beautiful serene women in fabulous flowing gowns inspired by Rossetti and Waterhouse, but he also does religious and historical themes. Since boyhood he has passionately copied the old masters, most especially the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. To create his work, he usually starts with a thematic concept followed by a 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 digital photo montages. This is patterned after the analog manner used by Maxfield Parrish and other 19th century notables. Beginning with a tracing, he then draws or paints from these complex original Digital 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. For decades David has sought out the most beautiful models and brought them in for sessions in his analog photography studio. Using a strategy employed by J. W. Waterhouse, the old master David imitates most - his wistful and graceful models cannot be underestimated in their contribution to the stunning beauty and the potential for lasting appeal of his work. |
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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 Pre-Raphaelite 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. On his existing works his low cost license offers start at only 100 dollars. ***** |
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Personal Opinion Essays on Realistic Art yesterday and today by the artist.
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 Numérique )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 21st century Pre-Raphaelite Art in 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 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!" |
"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
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.
Photography, Drawing, Painting and Digital media combined |
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
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"Although I love Rossetti and all the other Pre- Raphaelite artists dearly, none of the Pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood has influenced me more visibly than John William Waterhouse. Helen of Troy is my loving tribute to him, his vision, and his magnificent and deeply inspirational works. ( My life and artistic vision are patterned after and inspired by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, but the actual appearance of my works are more patterned after those of J W Waterhouse.)
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POSTER ART ART BOOKS PUBLISHING LICENSES BUY ORIGINAL ART ART INSTRUCTION info@howarddavidjohnson.com Thank you for Visiting... Your business, letters, & links are always welcome. *****
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Images and text copyright 1993 - 2007 Howard David Johnson All rights reserved.
Music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( 1840- 1893) - "Swan Lake"
Thank you for visiting The Pre- Raphaelite and Symbolist Art Exhibition of Howard David Johnson...