Art, Philosophy, and Art Philosophy: Essay 0002
HOWARD DAVID JOHNSON'S ESSAY ON THE REBIRTH OF REALISM
Personal Opinion Essays on HISTORY, MYTH, MORALITY, & ART yesterday and today by the artist.
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Art, Philosophy, and Art Philosophy: Essay 0002 HOWARD DAVID JOHNSON'S ESSAY ON THE REBIRTH OF REALISM Personal Opinion Essays on HISTORY, MYTH, MORALITY, & ART yesterday and today by the artist.
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"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 realistic visual artist and photographer with a background in |
| the natural sciences and history. He works in a wide variety of realistic art media ranging from traditional |
| oils, pastels and others to cutting edge digital media. He loves mixing media. His web site features |
| many examples of his Realistic Art, including illustration, photography, experimentalism, and fine art |
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Essay Two Realistic Art : The Rebirth of Realism in the 21st Century More thoughts on realistic art yesterday and today by the artist |
Art History has entered a new era with the birth of Art Numérique, 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.
| 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 Pharoahs 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. |
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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.
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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. ~ Howard David Johnson |
( These essays are never meant to offend, but to spur thought and democratic debate in a spirit of fun. )
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The Johnson Galleries Click on the Icons to visit the Thematic Galleries of Realistic Art: Including Mythology of Greece, Rome, Asia, 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, Ancient Mystic Religious texts, History of War from The Ancient Spartans and the Trojan Horse to World War Two, The World's Great Religions, and Art Technique and design...Art Lessons, Celtic Mythology & Pencil Techniques display some full size art... |
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| Fairy Paintings |
Greek Mythology |
Celtic Mythology | World's Religions | Norse Mythology | Surreal Fantasy Art |
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Asian Mythology |
Symbolist Art |
The Seven Wonders | Res Publica | Legends of History | Spartan Warriors |
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Art Numérique |
Art Commissions |
Commercial Art |
History of Dragons |
More Fantasy Art |
Mythic Women Art |
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| Pin up Art Gallery | Basic Art Technique | Studio Photography | Art Instruction | Frauen Mit Blumen | Realistic Paintings |
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| About the Artist | Thumbelina full size | Pencil Portraits I | Colored Pencils II | Fairy Wallpapers | Link Exchange |
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ABOUT THE ARTIST The various galleries linked to by the thumbnail icons in his web show many examples of HDJ's 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 traditional realistic art media. As this happens, the finished work is substituted in the exhibit. |
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has built up an enormous library of original source photos to use in
his realistic art. 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. For decades he has sought out the most beautiful models
and brought them in for sessions in his photography studio. Using a
strategy employed by J.W. Waterhouse, the old master HDJ imitates most-
see Helen of Troy ( a recognizeable tribute ) and The Messenger ( in
the spirit of Waterhouse ) both featuring Grace- his wistful and
graceful models cannot be underestimated in their contribution to the
stunning beauty and the potential for lasting appeal of his work. Their
last names are withheld to protect them from stalkers & other
internet predators.
His favourite medium for traditional 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 most recently, the highly controversial digital media. As a commercial illustrator Johnson has not only used the computer to create art but has been involved in the development and marketing of computer imaging software for Adobe Photoshop. Working in a realistic style inspired by classic illustrators HDJ is deeply rooted and grounded in the Greco-Roman artistic tradition, Feeling that espescially with realistic art - that 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 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 artist. Computers have not diminished his love of working in traditional media. He loves to draw portraits from his own photographs as well as using them to create illustrations in various media. Click on 'The Messenger' above for more on HDJ's other public domain sources & influences he uses to create his realistic art. 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 realistic art media such as colored pencil drawings, pastel paintings, acrylic paintings, gouache paintings, water color 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 realistic illustrations and old fashioned customer service when he does work-for-hire. ***** |
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| Howard David Johnson is a contemporary realistic visual artist and photographer with a background in |
| the natural sciences and history. He works in a wide variety of realistic art media ranging from traditional |
| oils, pastels and others to cutting edge digital media. He loves mixing media. His web site features |
| many examples of his Realistic Art, including illustration, photography, experimentalism, and fine art |
He accepts select commissions to paint custom oil paintings with down payments starting at only one thousand dollars. Other media, like colored pencils or digital are of course far less expensive. He grants permission for most educational purposes simply for asking courteously. To use his existing realistic art he offers licenses for publishing starting as low as $100.00 USD.
NEW REPRINTS! LICENSES CUSTOM BOOK COVERS ORIGINAL ART ART INSTRUCTION ART BOOKS
info@howarddavidjohnson.com
Your business, letters, & links are always welcome.
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