Drawing in Church

I know, I know, I should be paying attention but sometimes it's easy to sketch people around you in church. Often you are provided with paper and a ballpoint pen is never far away.  The sketches are always small and fast but they are fun to look at later. I mostly have sketches of the backs of heads!

The Artist's Guide to Sketching

In the early 1990s I was working for a grocery company making many hand drawn, cut and painted signs using fomecore board , Crayola markers (off of the shelf) , giant Pilot sign markers and Design Master floral spray paint. I routinely travelled to about 15 different stores with a case of fomeboard and my bag of markers and made whatever signs each store needed for displays and promotions. You could tell when I was in a store by the smell of the markers and spraypaint!

One day, during a lunch break, I stopped at a yard sale and some painter was selling many nice art books.  One that attracted me was The Artist's Guide to Sketching by James Gurney and Thomas Kinkade and what a prize it turned out to be!  I had never heard of either artist but their generous information and practical instruction allowed me to learn things that had seemed out of my reach prior to that. I started carrying a sketchbook all of the time and enjoying the world in  new way. Later I was introduced to the Dinotopian art of James Gurney and to the nostalgic images of Thomas Kinkade.
Now James Gurney carries on his great tradition of learning and sharing n his wonderful blog, GurneyJourney.

Clown White

Wow! What do they put in "Clown White"?
The picture below is of me about 30 years ago. The picture below that is me today with the same can of Clown White I used in the early picture. It still smells the same too! I love grease paint!

Fred Banbury

When I was a kid I happened to spot a copy of Alfred Hitchcock's Haunted Houseful in a downtown news stand. I was struck by the creepy, gloomy haunted house on the cover with Alfred Hitchcok's likeness on it. Eventually I checked the book out from the library and was 
mesmerized by the moody, scary, suspenseful illustrations throughout the book. The artist was Fred Banbury. Mr. Banbury seems to be most known for his artwork in the Paddington Bear children's books but I was forever influenced by his spooky subjects done in watercolor washes and pen & ink with heavy, black pencil textures and stark highlights in chalk or white pencil.

A Recent Haunted House

 Here is a recent house I "haunted" for some friendly folks in Pennsylvania. They furnished me with some pictures of the farm house taken with their iPhone and provided me with a list of creatures and items  they  wanted to be in the painting, it was a fun assignment. This is watercolor on watercolor paper.

A Winter Halloween Tree

I get a lot of inspiration from Ray Bradbury's short stories and books

A Winter Halloween Tree

The Halloween Tree

Multicolored Halloween Tree

All 3 Images Copyright 2013 by John Randall York

Crowns of the Three Wise Men

The crowns on the left were my first successful giftware design. They were produced by Faroy, a company in Houston, Texas. I wanted to design Christmas decorations that people would collect and cherish.

I was proud of these because they sold as a set and were Christmas tree ornaments. This is a scan from a 1990 Neiman Marcus catalog that featured them.

The crowns below were Limoges boxes I designed, they were supposed to be famous crowns of great kingdoms. I liked the fact they were produced as a collectible group of three and I thought of them as Christmas decorations, as the crowns of the "Three Kings". 

                               

Christmas Giftware

I  used to spend a lot of time contacting giftware companies and selling my designs. These little pictures are from a sketchbook I kept for a particular client. I would sketch several ideas and she would, sort of, shop from the sketches and focus on what she wanted to develope.
The Santas in the sketch didn't go very far but the tiny elves eventually became Limoges porcelain boxes that sold very well.

 

Christmas Ghost Stories

ANTON PIECK

Anton Pieck was a Dutch illustrator who lived from 1895 to 1987. Pieck made some beautiful illustrations for Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol". His work is described as "nostalgic" and "fairytale-like".  He was also responsible for designing most of the fairytale park Efteling in Kaatsheuvel, the largest  theme park in the Netherlands.

The Old Chilton House

 My name is John Randall York. I'm a an artist and illustrator.  If you get to know me you'll see how much I love "Haunted Houses", ghost stories and old fairytale illustrations from the 1950s and 1960s especially.

 In September I stretched a pretty big canvas (5 x 8 feet) and began painting a "Haunted Dream Home". That's a picture of it on the left, "The Old Chilton House".

I didn't have a plan in mind besides the thought of a creepy haunted mansion so for a couple of monthes I built my haunted house in oil!  It was a real treat and I truly missed hanging out at the Old Chilton House when I finished.  I am planning to make one a little larger now, either 5 1/2 x 10 or 12 feet horizontal or perhaps a 5 by 9 (or 10) ft vertical!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I hope you have a great Christmas and Holiday season!

Book Announcement

Stone Garden Publishing has extended and offer to publish a book that I will write and illustrate.

Art By Committee

This is some fun from participating in Jim Gurney's "Art By Committee"

Have a great week!- John

Small Sketch Fun!

This has been fun lately.

My first illustrated book! "Scaring the Crows"

Written by Gregory Miller, Illustrated by John Randall York!

A New Halloween Tree

Here's a new "Halloween Tree" inspired by the Ray Bradbury book! I did this in colored ink. It was a fun experiment. Halloween is coming!- John

Caution

Proceed with caution here! Halloween is coming!!!'

Have a wonderful weekend and a wonderful week!- John

Impatience

Impatience is the magic word on ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY this week. I'm so glad to be back on, I've been without a computing device of my own for more than 2 months and here I am! Have a wonderful weekend and week!- John

Hollow

I am really missing the blog world- my computing device is still un-repaired... my friend said "2 more days"... Oh well, I am communicating on a borrowed (for an evening) laptop and am having to recycle an old thumbnail to link to a pic I don't think I've posted- a hallow Halloween Tree. I hope you like it! Have a great week!- John

Worn

The theme for Illustration Friday is "Worn"... I apologize for using an picture I've posted before but I am on a borrowed computer since mine has been crashed for mutiple weeks now... but hopefully I'll be back in the saddle again in a week or so. Have a great week!- John

Adapt

Birds are leaning to ADAPT to changing trends in music by taking piano lessons.
Hey! Have a great weekend and then have a great week!- John

Cracked

"Cracked" is the theme for ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY I may want to devote this picture to most of our politicians.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND Friends, I hope you have a great week too!- John

Contagious

Horace and his pet swine "Sowella" were denied entry at the W.H.O.'s annual "Hot Dog Supper".

I hope you have a healthy and happy weekend and week!- -John

Vampires in Lu-u-u-uv!!!

A busy day

Someone snapped a picture of me on a busy street in my hometown this week

impossibility

Impossibility... the existence of fairies!!! Have a great week! I sure hope you do- John

Talisman

"Talisman" is the Illustration Friday theme today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and week! John

Poise

It turned into "Illustration Sunday" for me but here is my little character who, I believe, exhibits some poise...
Have a great week!- JOhn

subtract

"Subtrac" is the ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY theme, but since I don't believe math exists I am choosing "The first day of Spring" as my theme. Have a great Spring!- John

Leprechaun Tree

I had to display my first "Leprechaun Tree" for St. Patrick's Day! It's a wee little painting for sale on EBAY to end on St. Patrick's day. I do love green... I mean the color green... my favorite.

Legendary

The Legendary Pumpkings! Thanks to ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY they are back!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a great week!- John

breezy

It's breezy in this illustration I made for a friends prospective book. We never had any luck in getting it published but I liked our work. Have a wonderful weekend! Have a great week! Be optimistic! - John

Correction

INSTINCT

"Instinct" is the theme for ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a great week! Don't worry! It's going to be alright...my instincts tell me so!- John

Celebrate!

"Celebrate" is ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY's theme this week so I chose a pumpkinhead streetdance! This picture was inspired by the music of a fabulous Texas polka band called BRAVE COMBO
Have a great weekend and a wonderful week! Go see "CORALINE" and eat some Chinese food!- JOhn

TIME!

Time is the Illustration Friday theme... here is a, sort of, "Time Tree".
Have a great week!- John

flawed

I have so many flawed drawings it makes it hard to choose, but here is a flawed concept for ILLUSTRATION FRIDAY. Have a great week! - John