Circa 1920s Japan

1928

"THE SYMBOLISM CAME FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION..."

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on the original “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” BLACK SABBATH sleeve art illustrations by Drew Struzan. Color pencil & acrylic on board, 30"x40," c. 1973.

"My concept for this album was based on two color illustrations that were given to me on my confirmation day in 1955, that I still have to this day. They are from the 1700’s and depict an evil man and a good man both at the split second of their death. When I showed them to Drew and explained the idea -- well, these pieces speak for themselves."

-- ERNIE CEFALU (Creative Director)

"I created the album art for “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” in 1973. The theme was a good man dying and a bad man dying. Yes, I’m the guy in both versions. The symbolism came from the Book of Revelation. The 666 scared parents around the world!"

-- DREW STRUZAN (American artist/illustrator/painter)

Sources: www.originalalbumcoverart.com/struzan/sabbath-bloody-sabbath.php & X (formerly known as Twitter).

We've reached the end of Vintage Book Week 2023 on Instagram, with Prompt 4 "Hansel e Gretel". Here's my final entry. I decided to keep close to the original book cover illustration for this final one. I've actually illustrated a fun version of H&G, "It's Not Hansel and Gretel" by Josh Funk, so be sure to check that out on Amazon or at your local bookstores (Plug opportunity lol).

I want to thank everyone that took the time to participate in the challenge. And a huge thank you to my wonderful and talented co hosts, who put all this together to make this challenge a success. It was a lot of fun getting to see all the wonderful entries and meet new artists and get to talk to ones I've known for awhile. Maybe we'll get to do this again next year . . . . lol

If you haven't already, please follow and support my wonderful cohorts lol:

@geeksarecool

@jelkevantwerpen

@le_facciotte

@edwardiantaylor (moi)

And last but not least, thank you so much for the wonderful support of @iloveillustrators

Will-o'-the-wisp

Under Cover: J.C. Leyendecker and American Masculinity

Now through August 13, 2023, the New York Historical Society has 19 oil paintings and a boatload of other illustrations from the collection of the National Museum of American Illustration, Newport, RI, featuring the work of J.C. Leyendecker (1874–1951) who worked as a commercial artist. He is best known for this Arrow Collar Man advertisements, but he did covers for the Saturday Evening Post too in the early 20th Century. Leyendecker was gay in an era when hiding that identity was often essential to success, but his work reveals how much he loved the beauty of young men.   

He worked in the era before fashion photography dominated, and the ability of illustrators to capture realistic images of people, and to indicate some kind of story, whether for magazines or advertisements, was big business. This image is called “Record Time” and captures the moment during a swim meet as the man in the suit holds a stop watch. It was created for Kuppenheimer & Co of Chicago which sold menswear, including suits. Leyendecker’s illustrations can give you a good idea about what men wore, at least well-off men who had money to spend on nice clothes.  

For more information, go here: https://www.nyhistory.org/exhibitions/under-cover-leyendecker-and-american-masculinity

Julbock The Yule Goat - 1910 John Bauer #vintageillustration #vintageillustrator #johnbauer #julbock #julbocken #christmasgoat #vintagechildren #vintagechristmas #christmastradition https://www.instagram.com/p/Clw9RkYvtko/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

“Magic exists. Who can doubt it, when there are rainbows and wildflowers, the music of the wind and the silence of the stars? Anyone who has loved has been touched by magic. It is such a simple and such an extraordinary part of the lives we live.” - Nora Roberts . Bunny kisses!! This is the sweetest illustration. 💕🐰💕🐰💕🐰 . #margaritabloom #bunny #illustration #easter #vintage #vintageillustration #bunnykisses #sweetcore #cottagecore #cottagecoreaesthetic #shabbychic #cutecore #adorable https://www.instagram.com/p/CpEOa0pOWag/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

“March Comes in Like a Lion...”

The old adage “March goes in like a lion and out like a lamb” is illustrated here by Vernon Thomas for the March 1935 cover of the popular magazine Good Housekeeping. The saying refers to the seasonal shifts of weather. This year the expression was borne out in my area -- we have some heavy rainfall and big gusts of wind! California needs rain, so the precipitation is quite welcome. 

March 1935 cover of Good Housekeeping magazine. “Vernon Thomas” was actually a female artist who worked under her husband’s name, a fairly common practice at the time.

“Vernon Thomas,” a popular Chicago-based painter, illustrator, and etcher, was actually a female born in 1894 who worked under her husband’s name, as some women did in her day. (Through the first half of the 20th century it was not unusual for female artists and writers to disguise themselves professionally by adopting male names or reducing their first names to initials.) Below the illustration is a call-out for a new novel by the author Edison Tesla Marshall, also born in 1894, known for short and long form fiction. His novels were often serialized in various publications.

ere we have three young wizards, just one year older than Harry.

Bree can easily go to every common room in Hogwarts and stay there unnoticed. He's the best meme dealer in the school (yes, wizards' memes have moving images on paper).

His best friend is Gal, the loudest girl around. For some reason she's very good in potions which require lot of patience.

They always hang out with the cutest of them all - Rose. She's the purest Hufflepuff you can imagine. Caring, hard working and loving nature.

I wrote a huge fan fiction about them. It's in Polish tho but I plan to make an English comics based on that 🔥

Crests by MonnPrint

1974

YOU WILL DEFER TO SHE AS "EMPRESS OF THE BLUES" -- NO MORE, NO LESS.

PIC INFO: Spotlight on a portrait of pioneering African-American blues and jazz singer Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937), artwork by William Stout for his "Legends of the Blues" portraits series.

MINI-BIO: "Widely renowned during the Jazz Age and nicknamed the "Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, she is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and was a major influence on fellow blues singers, as well as jazz vocalists."

-- WIKIPEDIA

Source: www.budsartbooks.com/product/more-legends-of-the-blues-card-set-by-william-stout.

"I knew when I met you an adventure was going to happen.

-Winnie the Pooh

She Kissed a Bear on the Nose, John Bauer from his Gnomes and Trolls series, 1907

Octopus crown