Gale's root beer is delicious. Really delicious. I can't even begin to express just how mindbogglingly delicious it is.
The first time I saw this illustration was a few years ago when I had ordered a Root Beer at Lula Cafe on Kedzie in Logan Square. The illustration was the absolute first thing that I noticed about the entire product. Before I even began enjoying the root beer, I inspected the drawing.
It is a really fun and playful illustration. There are friendly lines and bright watercolors to really bring the nature of the work home. The figures and linework really reminded me of some of my favorite early 20th century illustrators like Winsor McCay and E.H. Shepard. There is an adorable childhood innocence all over the Gale's Root Beer piece that I've always loved from the other two aforementioned illustrators.
You may know E.H. Shepard as the "Winnie the Pooh" guy. But, there is actually a separate A.A. Milne publication called "When We Were Very, Very Young" that was also illustrated by Shepard. The work is a collection of poems about childhood. Here is an example:
The lines are almost identical in style. If I was unaware, I would believe that it was the same illustrator behind both works. Obviously, though, if the Gale's illustrator was intent on creating a sense of childlike innocence, they chose the correct influence.
The other illustrator that I mentioned is also pretty similar. His style is a bit different but it promotes the same overall mood. He is really one of my favorite artists ever. This is the work of Winsor McCay:
He created the "Little Nemo" character as well as the "Little Nemo in Slumberland" series, which are some of my personal favorites.That's about it.
Great post!
ReplyDeleteOne suggestion I have (to everyone, not just Frank), is to please include some links if you mention other artists.
One thing I would like for us to get out of the class is to place illustrators and styles in a historical context and to see how various works interrelate.