Tuesday 4 February 2014

My Favourite Artists #4: The Art of Alex Ross



Terminator: The Burning Earth 





The Avengers Invaders







*Spiderman via the official Alex Ross.com website










Born in Portland, Oregon and raised in Lubbock, Texas, Alex Ross has been labelled the photo-realist of comic books and when you search for his works on the internet, it's not difficult to see why he has been given this particular term.

His style is described as a mixture of Jack Kirby, Norman Rockwell & George Lopez and has been praised for his realistic Gauche-like depiction of fictional comic book characters. Many of his works comprise of pop-art paintings and each piece denotes his ability to capture their likeness incredibly well, as well as injecting a retro- feel. There is an authenticity about Ross's art that a) screams classic and b) demonstrates his wonderful brush strokes. When I think of Alex Ross's style, three words that spring to mind are, 1950s vintage American (see below next image). It reminds me so much of retro old- school 50s, early 1940s posters where figures, stars and characters had that painted, drawing look to them.


Surburbia for Sale (©) 2011 Sally Edelstein All Rights Reserved

I would agree that his style is very much like Marvel's Jack Kirby; he himself studied artists such as Salvador Dali and George Perez at college.

Ross is the type of visual artist that can take fictional characters and I'd add factual people, such as celebrities and redevelop, recreate them in a way that makes them stand out more and give it that lovely Gauche-like touch.

Ross has won various awards including the comic buyer's guide fan award seven times, which is a pretty outstanding feat. For me, any artist that can take any medium such as comic books and give it that realistic approach, but incorporate their own unique art style, deserves praise.


*info via Wikipedia, DC Comics, Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross and Comic Vine



The Rocketeer



Ultraman 


....The Artist himself 

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