tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post4096330794296645608..comments2024-03-19T00:40:08.529-04:00Comments on Today's Inspiration: Norman Rockwell's Tom Sawyer, part 4leifpenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-90603531588882828882009-07-09T20:05:02.909-04:002009-07-09T20:05:02.909-04:00Thanks for your comments Kathleen and Joel. I'...Thanks for your comments Kathleen and Joel. I'm glad you are enjoying Rockwell's illustrations as I do.<br /><br />Charlie, I'm glad you commented on Rockwell's kids. I too felt his kids became a little too cartoonish on occasions, but don't see as much of that in the Tom and Huck series. Of course, the general public loved those "too precious" kids, and he probably loved all the compliments, making it hard to stop doing it. I guess a lot of our personality, experiences and genetic characteristics show up in our illustrations. He could have caved in to the critiques, but he just kept on truckin. Interesting observation about the different looks Tom Sawyer has. illustration 7, coming up soon, shows Huck smoking a pipe, and for a long time I thought it was Tom! Huck looks considerably different in the book , "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" than the way he is portrayed in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"... in the former, his hair is darker and somewhat different features. I would love to know the story behind that inconsistency. But then, Rockwell was critical of some of Lyendecker's illustrations, and he was a huge fan of Lyendecker's work. <br /><br />Hey, now we both sound like one of those pain in the butt art directors! ;-)<br />Glad you are enjoying the posts.<br /><br />Tom WatsonTomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13237565169344311948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-30770393674352095232009-07-09T18:24:30.016-04:002009-07-09T18:24:30.016-04:00TOM....Just a great week on NR, Tom Sawyer, Huck F...TOM....Just a great week on NR, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, their adventures, and the absolutely perfect combo of Rockwell and Mark Twain. I grew up with the two books, read them several times....but before these publications came out. I'd like to see again the black and white illustrations (there weren't many as I recall) and find out who illustrated those earlier editions. I'll check....they may somewhere in our family. Almost taboo to critique NR, but I had said earlier that his cartooned kids were a bit too cute....a bit precious. Still think so at times....and I notice a difference in his Tom Sawyers as if he'd used a different model on some. Hey....the quibbler here....I sound like some of the art directors I dealt with! Thanks for the beaucoup analysis and commentary all through....again, a great week!Charlie Allennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-44151407137357944062009-07-09T17:49:43.475-04:002009-07-09T17:49:43.475-04:00I love the incidental touches like the reoccurring...I love the incidental touches like the reoccurring bandaged toe in both pictures. <br /><br />There's great pantomime with the expressions of the onlooking kids: the one obviously enjoying Tom's demise and the sympathetic girl in red,(Becky?).<br /><br />Tom's asymmetric mouth help convey his pain and humiliation. Great stuff!Joel Brinkerhoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16367156808507565022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-52342267134859323672009-07-09T16:36:20.302-04:002009-07-09T16:36:20.302-04:00Wonderful post - thanks for pointing out some of t...Wonderful post - thanks for pointing out some of the obvious things I had missed while enjoying his illustrations. A technical master!Kathleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05405534102659638910noreply@blogger.com