Ralph Steadman
Ralph Steadman is a legend - legends are often those that have been around for a while and Ralph goes back to the 60s and probably earlier with his illustrative work.
Let me just get the introduction out of the way as I just want to talk about Ralph’s fantastic mastering of pen and ink.
Steadman is renowned for his political and social caricatures and cartoons and also for illustrating a number of picture books. Awards that he has won for his work include the Francis Williams Book Illustration Award for Alice in Wonderland, the American Society of Illustrators’ Certificate of Merit, the W H Smith Illustration Award for I Leonardo, the Dutch Silver Paintbrush Award for Inspector Mouse, the Italian Critica in Erba Prize for That’s My Dad, the BBC Design Award for postage stamps, the Black Humour Award in France, and several Designers and Art Directors Association Awards. He was voted Illustrator of the Year by the American Institute of Graphic Arts in 1979. - Wikipedia
I have admired Ralph’s work for such a long time, from my teens when I was drawn in (so to speak) by his amazing expressive visuals, often grotesque, always confronting, rarely pleasant and more often disturbing - but that’s where the beauty lies - there is a freedom in his expression and an amazing use of pen and ink - the lines themselves do most of the talking, the serendipity of a spatter - his use of space - his somewhat over use of line to then to allow for quiet with fewer lines - it has a sense of volume - an amazing and an eccentric illustrator/artist.
Here is a reel of images of Ralphs work
See more at www.ralphsteadman.com
