I began my career in Illustration in 1976. It was not my career of choice, which was to be a “Fine Artist”, (also known as a “Starving Artist”). But a few years after graduating with a BFA degree from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, I was steered towards illustration by an experienced illustrator, Charles Gehm.
Already experimenting with realism, using photographic reference, I was shown how to use my inclination and actually make a living. I was introduced to the world of models, costumes and photo studios and practiced as a sort of apprentice.
I started out in paperbacks with a genre that was fading in its popularity, the gothic novel. These books usually had a woman in a nightgown looking scared in front of a big, sinister mansion. The “bodice-ripper” was on its way in and I proved adept at this look, playing with the over-the-top sensuality, but also bringing elements of classical painting and design to them.
A trip to Italy in 1984 reinforced this classical tendency, when I saw the works of Carravaggio, Botticelli and other Renaissance painters. I recognized that those artists were really illustrators in every sense. Their images were designed to communicate and tell a story. They worked for clients whom they had to satisfy if they wanted to continue being employed, and they had to meet deadlines as part of their job, (admittedly they had much more time, with some commissions taking years to complete).
Up till that point, I had generally seen Illustration as sort of a commercial half brother of “Fine Art”, and it troubled me to think I was selling out and should instead be painting in a “pure” way. But I began to realize that the Art industry was responsible for the pure art myth, when in fact it, too was a commercial system, - just with different rules!
Since then I have worked steadily with the goal in mind to continue the ancient tradition of Art Illustration, to not just satisfy the client, but also satisfy my sense of Art.
By most recent estimate estimate I have created around 3000 illustrations so far for clients such as, Avon Books, Ballantine Books, Berkley Books, Dell, Doubleday, Harcourt, Harlequin, Holt Rhinehart Winston, Little Brown, New American Library, Random House, Rounder Records,The Bradford Exchange, The Wall Street Journal, Viking Penguin, Italian Vogue, Zondervan and Zebra.
All Images are Copyrighted by James Griffin, 2006.
No images or content may be used without permission. Other copyrights may apply.
