The Orson Welles Gallery - interpretations of the master

Welles' friends and family, business dealings, beliefs, etc.

Postby chrissie » Sat Jul 23, 2005 1:52 pm

Right, I should mention this here. I'm working on a slightly hare-brained project of asking artists to draw OW for me. Ostensibly this isn't for publication, though if what results happens to be fabulous, it might become a small press booklet and/or Web site eventually. Don't quote me.

I have asked a number of people, received four positives so far (one of them quite well-known, but I'm not namedropping). I received the first contribution earlier in the week, by UK artist/designer Simon Russell:

Image

Thought you might enjoy having a look at it!
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Postby etimh » Sat Jul 23, 2005 3:28 pm

Hey chrissie,

Wow, what a great project! Are you only looking for "drawings" in the strict sense of pencil/ink drawings, or other mediums as well? Paintings? Computer-generated images? Manipulated photographs/collage work?

Very best of luck with this.

Tim
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Postby chrissie » Sat Jul 23, 2005 4:35 pm

The people I've asked so far would only be doing ink or pencil. I'm interested in comic books and cartooning. I am specifically after work that results in a physical piece of artwork, but otherwise medium isn't a big deal.

I wouldn't necessarily expect anyone to do a painting, though. I am asking for originals and I can't afford to pay (the offer of my drawing 'subject of choice' in return is open to those who find my questionable artistry of some value), so I'm not expecting masterworks. The original motivation was creating an interesting display for one of my walls! But I won't rule out something more public if what I get turns into something with a wider appeal*. I don't know if anyone on here is artistically inclined, but I do welcome contributions from anyone as long as it isn't stick figures or whatever. :D

(*If I did put it out as a small press booklet--subject to contributors' permission--the run would be something like 200 copies, digest-size. I can predict that based on my lack of a real budget! Obviously, I'd give it a plug here for those who might be interested.)
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Postby marcoshark » Thu Jul 28, 2005 9:21 pm

What a neat idea Chrissie!

I don't know how you could contact him, but I think you should try to get an illo from Howard Chaykin. In your neck of the woods, Brian Bolland? Dave Gibbons? Kevin O'Neill? (BTW, Love the Toth reply on your web site!)
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Postby jaime marzol » Fri Jul 29, 2005 5:46 am

chrissie has a web site?

what might the address be?
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Postby GM » Fri Jul 29, 2005 8:34 am

Nice idea, Chrissie. Looks like Toth did do some kind of Welles drawing in his response to you. Or was that a self-portrait?

I think it would be neat to have a website devoted to artwork on Orson Welles. Paintings and drawings of him do turn up on various websites and on ebay from time to time, and even some drawings by him in the form of Christmas cards etc. It would be interesting to have an online collection of these to go along with the Welles photo gallery if that ever gets off the ground. Anyway, here's an

Al Hirschfeld caricature of Welles
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Postby chrissie » Fri Jul 29, 2005 11:24 am

No, that's Toth's self-portrait. He's white and bearded himself these days. However... I have written back to him asking him if he wants to draw a pic of Orson. I just got a letter from Ditko today (we've corresponded a bit), and sadly a no-go there -- he isn't interested in drawing likenesses of real people.

However, I did receive a preview of a piece from UK artist Garen Ewing. Should be getting the original shortly. He chose to do the older Orson and it's another nice job.

Jaime: Web site link in profile if you didn't see it yet. If you can stand the rambling and cynicism therein. ;-)
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Postby jaime marzol » Fri Jul 29, 2005 3:04 pm

my life revolves around rambling and cynicism!
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Postby chrissie » Sat Aug 06, 2005 4:17 pm

I received Garen's piece today. I need to buy frames.

Thought y'all might like to see it, and where better to preview these images?

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Postby Store Hadji » Sun Aug 07, 2005 3:53 am

How about this one? The Salvador Dali approach, I guess (or Orson had too much mezcal tequila again.)

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Postby maxrael » Mon Aug 08, 2005 7:26 am

the uk illusionist Derren Brown has done a couple of OW pics... see:

derren brown

i was luck enough to be given a print of the one on the bottom left for my birthday!

other possibly interesting ones for wellesnetters include Simon Callow on page 1 and Kafka on page 4...

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Postby Gordon » Mon Aug 08, 2005 8:30 am

How about artwork BY Orson Welles?
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Postby GM » Mon Aug 08, 2005 10:30 am

Those are all very nice images. Excellent rendering by Garen Ewing, and the bearded Orson with cigar by Derren Brown has long been one of my favorite Welles caricatures. As far as artwork by Welles, check ebay. People frequently sell Christmas cards designed by Welles himself. Anyway, here's another Hirschfeld Welles portrait, this time directing "Caesar"
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Postby Store Hadji » Tue Aug 09, 2005 1:40 am

This link has a couple nice pages of clickable thumbnails of Orson's set and costume designs, probably from the period of Everybody's Shakespeare. Click "Naeste" for the second page. The home page has a link to a fairly complete list of radio appearances, many of which I've never found copies of.

Orson's Drawings
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Postby GM » Tue Aug 09, 2005 11:54 am

Here's "Portrait with Symbols - Orson Welles" by the great photographer Irving Penn. It's blown up and scanned from a tiny photo in a Penn tribute book, so the picture quality's not too good, but I've never seen the portrait anywhere else. There are a couple of paragraphs about it in Peter Conrad's Welles book.

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