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About Charcoals |
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I am often asked about the modeling process. "Did he make you just stand there while he painted?"
As you saw in the rare photographs section of the web site, he used a photographer to capture the pose. But, what came after that? |
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| Most people know Rockwell as the "guy who did the Saturday Evening Post covers". While it is true that these magazine covers were a major part of his artistic efforts, he was first and foremost a commercial illustrator. This meant that companies of varying sizes would hire this very famous artist to illustrate their print advertisements. As the years passed by and as his fame grew, it was indeed prestigious to have Rockwell illustrate your ad. I personally modeled for companies like Pan American Airlines, Kraft Foods and Hallmark cards, to name just a few. |
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Every advertisement starts with an idea or a concept. The company that Rockwell had contracted with would have their advertising agency explain the concept of their particular advertising campaign to Rockwell either by phone or mail. It was then up to Rockwell to convert their concepts and ideas into a visual medium. Imagine how difficult and challenging this must have been. | |
| So, after Rockwell conceptualized the concept in his own fertile mind, the process started. Any of you who have seen an original Rockwell painting knows the incredible detail that went into it. Therefore it was unrealistic for Rockwell to do an oil painting as the "first draft" of the advertisement. Instead, to save time, he created a sketch either from pencil or, more often, from charcoal. Rockwell would then submit the charcoal sketches to the company that he was working for to see if he had captured their concept. Usually there were changes to be made or, in some cases, he had to start all over again. When the company was finally satisfied with the sketches, he would create the final oil painting. |
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Believe it or not, Rockwell didn’t think that his charcoals were a big deal. It was not unusual to see them strewn about the floor of his studio. He was very generous about giving these to friends and models. He also threw many of them in the trash. One of the guys I knew while growing up in Stockbridge was the garbage collector and he used to have fun picking and choosing the ones that he wanted to keep as he sifted through Rockwell's garbage. Right now, an original Rockwell charcoal drawing can sell for as much as $40,000.00! Talk about Trash to Treasures! |
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Scotty Ingram Collector's Club
email: scotty@rockwellclub.com
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