|
As an illustrator
David
has not only used the computer but has been involved in the development
and marketing of filter imaging software for Adobe Photoshop
[TM]. On his existing works license offers
start at only $149.00. Oil Paintings, Colored
pencils, Pastels, Mixed media, and Digital art can also be commissioned
for select projects.
Since
1996 This Art
Gallery has been honored by more than 35 million Unique Visitors
from
the Four
Corners of the Earth:
My Friends from around
the world thus far :
|
England, Canada, Scotland, Wales,
Ireland, Germany,
France, Monaco, Andorra,
Italy, The Vatican City State, Greece,
Macedonia, Cyprus, Turkey, Belgium,
Denmark, The Faroe Islands, Greenland,
Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Croatia, The Czech
Republic, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Luxembourg, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary,
Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, Austria,
Romania, Spain, The Russian Federation,
Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova,
Malta, Iceland, Finland, Norway,
Netherlands, Switzerland, Liechtenstein,
Sweden, Portugal, Albania, Armenia, Georgia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Gibraltar,
Israel, Palestinian Territories, Egypt,
Libya, Mali, Algeria, Niger, Saudi Arabia,
Oman, The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait,
Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen, Iraq, Iran,
Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco,
Ethiopia, Eritrea, Liberia, The
Republic of Congo, Rwanda,
Kenya, Angola, Ghana, The Ivory Coast,
Zambia, Zimbabwe, Sudan,
Nigeria, Namibia, Uganda, Kenya,
Eritrea, Tanzania, Botswana, Malawi,
Senegal, Djibouti, Cameroon, Chad,
Gambia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, South
Africa, Viet Nam, Japan, South Korea, China,
Hong Kong, Mongolia, Mauritius, Singapore, Thailand,
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Macau,
Malaysia, Taiwan, Nuie, New Zealand,
Fiji, Cook Islands,
|
"Athena
wachter von akropolis"
|
New Caledonia, Vanuatu, American Samoa,
Australia, Micronesia, Polynesia, Papua New
Guinea, The Heard and McDonald Islands, The Philippines,
Guam, Palau, Cocos Island, The Kingdom of Tonga,
Malaysia, Brunei Darussalem, India,
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka, Chagos Islands, The Republic of Maldives,
Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Nepal,
Indonesia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay,
Paraguay, Brazil, Peru, Aruba,
Venezuela, Bolivia, Suriname, Guyana, Aruba,
The Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Costa Rica,
Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and
Barbuda, Barbados, The Virgin Islands, The Netherlands
Antilles, Panama, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, Grenada,
Ecuador, Belize, Nicaragua, El
Salvador, Bermuda, Cuba, Jamaica,
Dominica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Cayman
Islands, Anguilla, The
Bahamas, Honduras, Mexico,
and my home, The Great Free State of Idaho... [USA]
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
Women of Mythology art page... Your business, letters, & links are always welcome.
*****
|
Thank
You for Visiting the Women of Mythology Art Gallery of Howard David
Johnson...
Howard David Johnson works in a wide variety of media * Oil
paintings * Acrylic Paintings * Prismacolor Paintings * Drawings *
Chalk & Oil Pastel Paintings * Photography * and last but not
least: Digital Artistry & Mixed Media * Because of the use of photography in everything
he does, even Johnson's all-oil paintings can be termed mixed media.*
Primary
sources (Greek and Roman)
(...and recommended reading)
Aeschylus, "The
Persians", Aeschylus, "Prometheus Bound", Apollodorus, "Library and
Epitome", Apollonius of Rhodes, "Argonautica, Book I", Cicero,
"De Divinatione" (On the Divination), Herodotus, "The Histories, I",
Hesiod, "Works and Days" Translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Homer,
Iliad. Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, "Hymn to Demeter" and "Hymn to
Hermes" also by Homer, Ovid, "Metamorphoses" and "Pausanias" Plato,
"Apology" and "Theaetetus". See free English translations on the web at
sites like The Online Medieval and Classical Library,
(https://omacl.org) The Perseus Project
(https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper), Sacred Texts
(www.sacred-texts.com) and Encyclopedia Mythica
(https://www.pantheon.org)
Artistic
Acknowledgements:
These
Mythic Art creations take their inspiration from the realistic
paintings of the old masters just as the film West Side Story came from
Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, who in turn copied it from Pyramus
and Thisbe, from Ovid's Metamorphoses. 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? Or Thomas Nast's Santa Claus without traditional images of
Father Christmas? Pablo Picasso without aboriginal African art? Public
domain appropriators, one and all. When America was formed, copyright
law was created to promote the public creativity and had 14 year terms
to reward the creators, but now with 100 plus year terms very little is
currently allowed to enter into the public domain and its preservation
is of the utmost urgency to our future cultural well-being. In
keeping with art tradition
and etiquette following the exhibit , I mention some of the artists and
writers that have influenced me the most; William Bouguereau, John
William Waterhouse, Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin, Edmund Blair
Leighton, Howard Pyle, Arthur Rackham, Arthur Hughes, Dante
Gabriel Rosetti, Viktor Vasnetsov, Jean Auguste Ingres, Anthony Van
Dyke, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Wallace Wood, Jack Kirby, Frank
Frazetta, Ray Harryhausen, H.G. Wells, Gustave Moreau, William Morris,
Henry David Thoreau, Will Durant, The Pre- Raphaelites, The Symbolists,
et al.
All
paintings, pictures, & text (c) 2018 Howard David Johnson All
Rights Reserved
*****
|
ON
SALE NOW from BRANDYWINE PRESS!
These beautifully printed 11" x 8.5" 64-74
page hardcover and trade paperback versions feature 48-54 full page
interior plates in full color starting at only $14.99 USD. Less than
the price of a single poster! Featuring Realistic Mythological and
Fairy Art created in a style inspired by Classic Illustrators by
American Artist & Photographer Howard David Johnson.
Click
on the covers to order the books from Lulu.com
REPRINTS LICENSES CUSTOM BOOK COVERS
ORIGINAL ART ART INSTRUCTION ART BOOKS
|
|
STYLE
and TECHNIQUE
"Those
who are enamored 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."
|
Out of this wood do not desire
to go: Thou shalt remain here, whe’r thou wilt or no.”
From “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
|
The various galleries linked to by the
icons above show many examples of His Realistic Art, and are grouped by
theme rather than media. Since boyhood he has passionately copied the
old masters. Using a strategy employed by J.W. Waterhouse (The old
master David has imitated 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. To create his work,
he usually starts with a thematic concept, then working in his
Photography studio with live models. 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.
For this he offers no apology as many of the greatest artists in
history employed any and all means of technology at their disposal such
as Camera Obscura or even the evil manufactured tube paints. See his article below: "On Art and
Technology: When Seeing is Not Believing" An essay
dealing with mechanical aids to visual art from Camera Obscura to
Computers for more on this. The
digital montage is a natural evolution of the preliminary photo collage
David learned from great Realistic illustrators like Maxfield Parrish
and Norman Rockwell.
You'd think by
now everything would have been tried but it hasn't. Exploring new art
mediums is just as exciting today, just as full of freshness and
newness as it ever been.
|
| His favourite medium for professional work
for many years was 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. Lately he mostly
draws in colored pencil to relax and for personal works. Recently he
has come to prefer Oil on canvas and digital media because of the
respectability of oils and the flexibility and profitability of digital
media. 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 for Adobe Photoshop. Working in a realistic
style inspired by classic illustrators David 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.
Having achieved international acclaim as a traditional visual artist he
discovered digital media (Art Numérica) in 1999. Because of
his passion for realistic art 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. 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, tapestries,
murals and the like with his contemporary realistic art... David's
Realistic Art has appeared in every major bookstore chain in The United
States and has been used in educational texts and magazines all over
the world. |
|
*****
All
paintings, pictures, & text (c) 1993- 2014 Howard David
Johnson All rights reserved
Thank You for Visiting the Women of Mythology art
page...
*****
NEW REPRINTS! LICENSES CUSTOM BOOK COVERS
ORIGINAL ART ART INSTRUCTION ART BOOKS
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!"
|
"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
 |
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."
|
Pastel, Acrylics, and Colored Pencils combined
|
The detail reveals Realistic art and abstract
art combined
|
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...
|
 |
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. |
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.
|
|
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
*****
NEW REPRINTS! LICENSES CUSTOM BOOK COVERS
ORIGINAL ART ART INSTRUCTION
 
 
Art tradition and etiquette suggest the artists
who have been most influential should be mentioned at exhibits; these
original new pieces shown in this exhibit take their inspiration in
part from the paintings of Waterhouse, Alma-Tadema, Church, Godward,
Moreau, Bouguereau, Leighton, Ingres, Moore, Parrish, Rackham and
others. Most of my sources are changed so much they are impossible to
detect, but sometimes I make it obvious to pay homage. Where would Walt Disney be without the Brothers
Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Victor Hugo and so many others? Where
would Aaron Copeland have been without American folk music? Thomas
Nast's Santa Claus without traditional images of Father Christmas?
Picasso without African art? These are artists who made
names and fortunes through Public Domain appropriation, one and
all. Beethoven did "variations on a theme" with the works of
Mozart for the same reasons I have done mine with Waterhouse and
others- to learn and give homage to the artists who most inspired
me.
|
All these images & text are legally copyrighted &
were registered with the U.S. Library of Congress Office of Copyright
in 2004-14 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
or
info@howarddavidjohnson.com
Thank
You for Visiting the Women of Mythology Art Gallery of Howard David
Johnson...
Music
by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( 1840- 1893) - "Swan Lake"
*****
|
|
