We post about new digital artists and designers most of the time, we also post about different styles and how designers and artists try to bring references from the past and adapt for the needs of the present. Last week I read that the Mad Men crew got magazine illustrating guru Brian Sanders, a 75-year-old artist now living in Cambridge, England—to illustrate the iconic poster. With that in mind, nothing like feature another amazing illustrator from the 60s, Tom McNeely.
Born in Toronto in 1935, Tom McNeely studied with two prominent Canadian artists before setting off on his own highly successful career. His distinctively-styled portraits of some of the world’s most famous personalities have been featured in numerous museums, and his paintings for Canada’s Expo ’67 and the 1976 Olympics brought him worldwide fame.
MacLean’s magazine
Chatelaine magazine
Publication unknown
McClelland & Stewart Publishers
“Philatelic 1st Day Covers for Canadian and American Postage Stamps, 1978-2006”
McClelland & Stewart
MacLean’s magazine
“Before I begin to paint, I immerse myself in my subject. I learn all I can about the person and the age when he lived. Only then, when I feel completely familiar with the subject — almost as if I can see him firsthand — do I begin a work of art.”
Chatelaine magazine
Chatelaine magazine
Canadian Magazine
McNeely’s paintings of Golda Meir, Muhammed Ali and Cardinal Leger have been proudly featured in books about these great world leaders, and they have won McNeely lasting acclaim. Other works include stunning portraits of celebrities from the 1950s like Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, as well as noted American composers, conductors and folk singers. He has also created spectacular paintings featuring Diana, Princess of Wales. Via http://www.unicover.com/