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Classroom use of the art print: Norman Rockwell . Triple Self-Portrait, 1960. Oil on canvas. 45" x 35"
Arts & Activities, Jan, 2005
THINGS TO LEARN
* Norman Rockwell is usually described as an illustrator, whereas most artists who paint pictures are called painters. There is little or no difference between a painter and an illustrator except for the kinds of subjects they choose. Both do their work on paper and canvas, and both use pencils, crayons and paints to make their pictures.
The subjects chosen by illustrators either tell a story that most people can understand or they make pictures for a book that show part of a story written by an author. A painter, on the other hand, usually chooses a subject where the picture stands by itself. It may show a vase of flowers or a landscape scene--or anything else--but it doesn't set out to tell a story.
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* Publishers and editors organize everything to do with a book or a magazine. Because illustrators usually work for publishers, they have to finish their pictures by certain dates--or deadlines. This makes it possible for the pictures to be printed at the same time as the words. For this reason, illustrators must finish their pictures by deadlines, while painters rarely have to do this.
Most of Rockwell's pictures were painted to fit into publishing deadlines. Most of the time, he had up to 6 months to complete a picture, but in that time he had to find an idea for a picture, have his sketch ideas approved by the art editor of the magazine, make careful drawings for every part of the picture, and finally paint it. Sometimes, as a result, he had a difficult time completing his work on time.
* Most of Norman Rockwell's illustrations are of people. He hired models that best fit the subject he was painting and instructed them exactly how he wanted the to pose to be while he drew and painted them. To further help him, he also hired a photographer to take photographs of the models as they posed--and also other objects he wanted in the picture. He usually made a couple dozen sketches of people and also had 70-80 photographs shot before he was satisfied. Using this visual information he developed a finished drawing for a painting, that was transferred to canvas to become the final painting. Rockwell followed this step-by-step process throughout much of his career.
* Rockwell was a great admirer of the masters of art who had painted portraits. He kept reproductions of their paintings in his studio and studied them for ideas to help him with his own painting. In the reproduction, we can see several pinned to edge of his canvas.
* The artist collected objects he thought might come in useful in his pictures. In this way he could draw them and be sure that they were shown accurately. On one occasion, when he had a borrowed horse led into his studio for him to draw and paint he had never realized just how large a horse was!
Another reason for being accurate was that Post readers would write letters to him whenever he made a mistake about how something looked.
* Most painters develop a particular style of working that everyone can recognize. Sometime they do not develop their own style for many years. Norman Rockwell developed his style of working by the time he was 21 and it didn't change throughout his long life.
* Most of the artists work is on display in the Norman Rockwell Museum, in Stockbridge, Mass., including his last studio.
* While most of Norman Rockwell's artworks were illustrations, he also painted a few formal portraits of important people, including Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson.
THINGS TO DO
* Following the example set by Norman Rockwell, students may plan a picture that includes people and have other students in the class pose while careful drawings are made. These sketches can then form the foundation for the figures in their composition, with additional drawings from the models occurring as needed.
The same solution is useful when including objects in a painting. It is always better to draw actual objects than to believe that a satisfactory drawing can be made from memory.
* Art teachers may find that collections of clothing can be useful in an art room for students to wear whenever they are modeling. While clothing may be collected specially for art room use, theater departments are also likely to have costumes from past productions that they may be prepared to lend. Alternatively, students may be able to bring interesting costumes from home.
* Students interested in illustration may be encouraged to make photocopies of work they like by artists such as Norman Rockwell and also some of the illustrators that Rockwell admired, such as Edmund Dulac and Arthur Rackham. Books on illustrators are likely to be found in local libraries, and information can be found through an internet search. They should also be encouraged to search out work by more recent illustrators.
* Students who have never used a maul-stick to help keep their hand steady while they paint details, should try using one as Rockwell did. Such a support is usually made from a long stick with a pad at one end that can be rested on the painting. Students can see how it is used from this painting.
