Artists Inspired by Noir Noir is everywhere these days, used to flog everything from over-priced coffee and cheap lingerie to high-end make-up and mediocre crime films that mistake ill-fitting fedoras and second-hand cigarette smoke for style. But real fans know that noir is more than just a few visual effects and a cool marketing tool. … Continue reading Art for Art’s Sake
Tag: Painter
They Also Served: Norman Saunders
Artist & Illustrator(1907-89) One of the most successful pulp artists of the century (and BOY! Could he do babes!), NORMAN SAUNDERS moved effortlessly from the pulps to paperback illustration. He was born in Minnesota, and took a mail-order art course, which eventually landed him a job at Fawcett Publications from 1928 to 1934. But he … Continue reading They Also Served: Norman Saunders
They Also Served: Richard Lillis
Artist & Illustrator (1899-94) One of the earlier pulp artists (he was young enough to serve in the first World War), RICHARD LILLIS was born in 1899 in Oxford, New York, the son of dairy farmers who ran a small grocery store on their property. He managed to attend an upstate New York college for … Continue reading They Also Served: Richard Lillis
They Also Served: H.J. Ward
Artist & Illustrator (1909-45) Despite his short life (he died of lung cancer at the age of 35), HUGH JOSEPH WARD cut a wide swath, responsible for some off the most sensational and iconic pulp mag covers of all time, working for Munsey, Dell and Popular, but mostly for Culture Publication's notorious Spicy line--which … Continue reading They Also Served: H.J. Ward
Dare to Judge This Book
Some Great Pulp & Paperback Cover Artists "... the covers were sometimes printed in advance, before there was a story. So what the editor did was show me the cover or a drawing - it was usually a picture of a half-naked woman and someone stripping the rest of her clothes off her. And on … Continue reading Dare to Judge This Book
They Also Served: Owen Smith
Artist & Illustrator Who says they don't do 'em like they used to? Long before Hard Case Crime made it safe for pulp cover art again, San Francisco fine artist OWEN SMITH was keeping the flame alive, through his paintings, illustrations and sculpture. I've been a fan of Smith ever since 1996 or so, … Continue reading They Also Served: Owen Smith