Artists that Influence my Work: Arthur Rackham & Shaun Tan

As probably the same with all other artists/illustrator out there, I grew up admiring many other artists. Today I felt like sharing a few of the artists, whose artwork I love and admire, and also influenced me in creating my own artwork.

Arthur Rackham

An assignment during my university year, lead me to discovering Arthur Rackham. As I’ve mentioned in my introduction post, I love picture books. Arthur Rackham’s illustrations immediately reminded me of all those old fairy tale picture books I’ve seen when I was a child. As a little child, I remember being more interested in the pictures rather then the written story of a picture book. Arthur Rackham’s illustrations feels very… enchanting… is probably the right word, i think. It’s very magical, fantasy-like, and dreamy. The way he draws looks so realistic, yet very imaginative. His illustrations really brings the fantasy, a step closer to life. 

I love his use of earthy colors, which gives a very classical feel, and some sense of nostalgia. You also might notice all the fine details of the nature and characters in his illustrations. I especially love how trees are drawn in these illustrations. Oh, my, how I love all those complicated, cris-crossing, spindly line going all around.  It’s very fascinating to see.

If you’re interested in reading more about Arthur Rackham, I suggest checking this link artpassions.net/rackham/rackham.html .The site’s collection of Arthur Rackham’s illustrations is amazing.

Shaun Tan

Another artist I discovered during my time at university. While in the library one day, I was enchanted by this picture book which has no written words, and just drawings. The book consist of a full story sequence made purely out of drawings, which are very detailed and real, yet, very unreal at the same time… Surreal seems like the right word to describe it… Yes, I’m talking about Shaun Tan’s ‘The Arrival’. The book left a big impression on me, and I ended up looking for all the other picture books he wrote.

Each drawing in each of his picture book is an artwork of itself. Each, a beautiful piece of fine art. But combine all of those pieces into a story, and you end up with this gorgeous picture book. After rading ‘The Arrival’, I realized that even picture books, which are mostly aimed for children, could have deep meanings, and also become interesting for adults. 

As I became more used to digital tools, I came to admire artists who work in traditional media more. Shaun Tan’s artwork are made traditionally (painting, sculpting, or mixed media). Even though original artworks could lose some of its charm when being printed (that’s why people look at original artworks at galleries), In Shaun Tan’s books, the combination of artwork and story, complement each other very well, creating a very strong, overall package.

The way Shaun Tan view this world, and how he expresses it in his art, amazes me to no end. His stories could be scary at time, and also humorous in another. Even if you don’t fully understand the meaning of the story, the artwork itself is certainly something to enjoy when reading his books.

Check Shaun Tan’s official website shauntan.net , and you could learn more about his creative process