Hector Garrido was a paperback cover artist who was active from 1965 until 1996. Over the course of his career, he illustrated everything from the covers of the Baroness series of pulp novels to romance and horror to Nancy Drew. A selection of his work can be found below.
From 1943 to 1950, Gerald Gregg painted 175 paperback cover for Dell Publishing. Gregg prepared almost all of his cover work by airbrush and was distinguished by a style that combined graphic design and stylized realism.
I love baseball and I love my Texas Rangers. Josh Hamilton may say that I don’t live in a “baseball town,” but I know that, whether my team is winning or losing, I will always be there cheering them on.
Baseball is known as being “America’s past time” because it’s the oldest sport to have been played in this country. Football may get more attention but baseball, with its emphasis on teamwork and personal sacrifice, is the sport the epitomizes the American ideal.
There have been some great films made about baseball. This scene that I love comes from The Natural. This is a scene that captures the glory and the magic of the game of baseball.
Born in Peru, Boris Vallejo started painting when he was 13 and got his first professional illustration job at the age of 16. He emigrated to the United States in 1964. Vallejo is best known for his fantasy-themed artwork, which often features characters based on both himself and his wife, artist Julie Bell.
A few examples of his work can be found below.
I think anyone who has ever had a job can relate to this.
Gene Colan was born in New York and studied art at the Art Students League of New York. Colan joined the Army Air Corps in 1944 and served in the Philippines where he drew for the Manila Times. Upon returning to civilian life in 1946, Colan began to work for Timely Comics, which eventually became Marvel Comics. Over the course of his long career, Colan illustrated everything from super hero to young romance comics. He might be best known for his work in the 70s, when he illustrated two cult comics — Tomb of Dracula and Howard the Duck. In 2005, Colan was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.
Mort Kunstler studied art at Brooklyn College, UCLA, and the Pratt Institute. After graduating in 1953, he worked as a freelance artist in New York City. Along with drawing covers and illustrations for several “men’s adventures” magazines, Kunstler also painted posters for The Poseidon Adventure and the original The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3. Since the 1980s, Kunstler has specialized in painting dramatic interpretations of key American historical events with an emphasis on the Civil War. He has been called “the foremost Civil War artist of our time.”
This isn’t the most romantic song in the world but it still seems to be appropriate for Valentine’s Day.
Happy Valentine’s Day from Doc and everyone at the Shattered Lens!
One day in 1941, 17 year-old Gloria Stoll threw away all of her student artwork. Her building’s janitor rescued her portfolio and showed it to one of her neighbors, a pulp artist named Rafael DeSoto. With DeSoto’s help, Stoll pursued a successful career as a commercial artist. From 1941 to 1948, she sold cover art to magazines like All-Story Love, Dime Mystery, and New Love. She retired from commercial art when she got married in 1948 but she continued to paint. Her work can be found in the permanent collection of Yale University and the Carnegie Museum of Art.
