tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post8631255693046350944..comments2024-03-19T02:12:41.691-04:00Comments on Today's Inspiration: Francis Marshall's Valentineleifpenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-79257032565671481572009-09-15T16:03:45.750-04:002009-09-15T16:03:45.750-04:00leif...i just ordered "AN ENGLISHMAN IN NEW Y...leif...i just ordered "AN ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK"...1949? i think....illustrated by francis marshall for $10....i'll send you some scans when i get it...best,brian....BRIAN POSTMANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00928403126188857237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-22207593292102706182009-09-13T09:59:54.072-04:002009-09-13T09:59:54.072-04:00That sounds intriguing, Don -- perhaps, if its not...That sounds intriguing, Don -- perhaps, if its not too much trouble, you could email me a few scans some time and I'll add them to my FM Flickr set. You can contact me directly at leifpeng[at]gmail[dot]comleifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-5877854755813508012009-09-13T09:57:54.678-04:002009-09-13T09:57:54.678-04:00Anthony; Thanks so much for sharing these links t...Anthony; Thanks so much for sharing these links to <i>even more</i> of FM's art - the four RDCB scans are now some of my favourites by the artist. Incidentally, like you I found and contemplated buying the DL for the FM Drawing book... but ultimately decided, with so many inexpensive used copies for sale on the Internet, that I'd wait and get a physical copy some time in the near future.leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-89606183868344272382009-09-12T06:58:00.331-04:002009-09-12T06:58:00.331-04:00Percy Bradshaw's book "Come Sketching&quo...Percy Bradshaw's book "Come Sketching" (1949) has a whole chapter on Francis Marshall, covering his career and working methods. Lot and lots of sketching, and a strong emphasis on being able to draw from memory (because you can't sketch in many society functions).<br /><br />There is a page of his astonishing "doodles" - beautiful little pen drawings of characters in costume, entirely out of his head.Don Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11232752398252841794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-81663209727106689012009-09-11T21:05:48.836-04:002009-09-11T21:05:48.836-04:00I first became aware of Francis Marshall about a y...I first became aware of Francis Marshall about a year and a half ago while perusing a Flickr set on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jl-incrowd/sets/72157603708520566/" rel="nofollow">Reader's Digest illustrations</a> -- four images in particular caught my attention (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jl-incrowd/2191372663/sizes/o/in/set-72157603708520566/" rel="nofollow">here</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jl-incrowd/2192165510/sizes/o/in/set-72157603708520566/" rel="nofollow">here</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jl-incrowd/2191386343/sizes/o/in/set-72157603708520566/" rel="nofollow">here</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jl-incrowd/2192187132/sizes/o/in/set-72157603708520566/" rel="nofollow">here</a>), all signed by "Francis Marshall" or "FM". The compositions were pleasing, the figures exaggerated but very much based in reality, the technique marvelously loose and self-assured, perspectives accurate yet as pushed as the figures - wow. I searched for more information and found virtually nothing about this artist. (I did find that apparently he wrote a book on <a href="http://figure-drawings.com/drawingthefigure.html" rel="nofollow">Drawing The Female Figure</a> that somebody scanned and was selling the .pdf - I'm tempted to pay the five bones and see what it is... maybe.) But you came through once again with a great series of posts that answer a lot of the questions I had about Mr. Marshall. Thanks so much!<br /><br />Oh, one last thing, apparently he illustrated the <a href="http://media.photobucket.com/image/%22francis%20marshall%22/quad_bucket/100_0033.jpg?o=1" rel="nofollow">movie poster</a> for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040725/" rel="nofollow">The Red Shoes</a> (1948) as well.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04147697435759018648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-66715420490704043662009-09-11T13:55:02.711-04:002009-09-11T13:55:02.711-04:00Thanks Tom; I'm glad you enjoyed this week. ...Thanks Tom; I'm glad you enjoyed this week. Based on what little info I've read ( and with the help of some of this week's contributors and commentors ) I get the impression Marshall sketched relentlessly and then went back to those sketches (along with collected photo reference) and combined all of these elements to create his illustrations. We have the one example from earlier in the week that shows his very rough sketch and then the inked final... so we know he wasn't a straight-to-ink man like W. David Shaw or the fashion illustrator Eric.<br /><br />Perhaps someone else can provide more detail about FM's working method?leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-8900371180730097872009-09-11T13:47:49.348-04:002009-09-11T13:47:49.348-04:00Leif, do you have any info on his working methods....Leif, do you have any info on his working methods.. direct from models, photos or drawing out of his head? They are so stylized, and they don't appear to be drawn directly from photos.. it's hard to tell. British artists seem to have that strong academic discipline in their work.. spartan training. Draftsmanship seemed to be paramount.. and how splendid they could/can draw and paint.. usually not inventive or experimental, but wonderful rendering skills and refined taste. Even when done in a loose stylized manor, they really come off beautifully. British WW2 art is unsurpassed by anything I have seen, in all of Europe or America. And, it can be seen in other art forms.. the BBC period films are visually very real to me.. beautifully filmed with the eye of an artist.<br /><br />Great week on FM, Leif.<br /><br />Tom WatsonTomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13237565169344311948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-10819305562812714122009-09-11T13:10:25.908-04:002009-09-11T13:10:25.908-04:00this is great stuff,leif....i'm glad youre sho...this is great stuff,leif....i'm glad youre showing more...brianBRIAN POSTMANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00928403126188857237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-20408858078561032282009-09-11T11:27:08.451-04:002009-09-11T11:27:08.451-04:00Yeah, I was going to say (before I got the end of ...Yeah, I was going to say (before I got the end of the post and saw your comment) that the shark illo is exceptional!Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01891803494450719808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-39097962184526680232009-09-11T11:04:07.832-04:002009-09-11T11:04:07.832-04:00Very interesting, Chad - I would love to get a loo...Very interesting, Chad - I would love to get a look at those advertising strips you mentioned! As for rush jobs - I get the sense that Marshall always had the advantage of being a fast worker. Perhaps that made this sort of assignment relatively painless by comparison with other artists. My interest lies more in how Marshall would have perceived himself doing these pieces. Did he feel depressed that he'd had to "sink this low"... considering the stigma attached to working for the comics back then.leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-68949318289994739272009-09-11T10:50:52.987-04:002009-09-11T10:50:52.987-04:00Thanks to David for finding these lovely images, t...Thanks to David for finding these lovely images, they're all new to me. 2 points,yes interior illustrations for this kind of teen oriented annual were often of questionable quality, with rare exceptions.But looking at these FM half tone pictures,I see no evidence at all of a rush job, in fact his faces have a higher level of 'finish' than his Reader's Digest illustrations and there is overall more detail in the renderings.Secondly, I'm pretty sure Francis Marshall did do some quite stylish limited colour and black and white picture strip work, but they would have been better paying advertising commissions rather than the considerably lower rate comic features.Chad Sterlingnoreply@blogger.com