Love of Light

OK, so now I'm going to dive in over my head and probably offend someone.

The other day I was going through my list of artists' sites, looking for things to trim. I visited Greg Horn's site (http://www.greghornjudge.com/), in particular his sequential interiors (click on the tiny tiny "Sequential/Storyboard" link in the crowded left-hand panel). Greg is a big-time professional. I obviously thought his work was worth a second look when I included him the first time. Also, he probably doesn't give a rat's ass what somebody like me thinks. Still, I was totally turned off. Sorry Greg.

The thing that bugged me, I think, was the way the pages looked like photo-shopped collages of bad actors on top of CG backgrounds. There was a certain amount of realism, but all so shiny and evenly lit, bubblegum bright and, somehow, flat. The character seemed superficial, and the panels overly busy (a lot like the website, actually).

Today, I was wandering around the net and visited the The Athenaeum, in particular the works of Jack Vettriano. Now, Jack isn't the greatest artist of all time or anything. He may be a bit formulaic. I'm also aware I'm comparing comic books to gallery art here, but Jack's pictures have negative spaces, they have presence, and they have love of light. The difference, to me, is huge.

So, there's not really much of a point. Maybe you agree, maybe you don't. Maybe I just want to remind myself what I like and why.