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ARTIST
NORMAN BLAINE SAUNDERS
1907-1989
He was renowned for
his luscious palette and exciting action scenes, his sexy women and his ability
to shoot from the hip when facing a deadline! Norman Blaine Saunders'
illustration career was as big and successful as any artist could hope for, and
no single genre could contain his remarkable talent. He painted them all -
aliens and aviators, heroes and hunters, detectives and demons, quarterbacks and
comic books, sex kittens and serial killers, westerns and wacky packs!
He was curious about everything in life, and his paintings were enriched with
his detailed studies of people, history, science and nature. No matter where his
visual curiosity led, he branded that world with his own dynamic design, playful
skepticism and a solemn belief that life is tough. He was shockingly irreverent
a nonconformist who laughed at the self-righteous and advocated the School of
Hard-Knocks. He was a colorful story-teller and an innovative thinker, charming,
insightful and fearless. He loved women, children and puppies, and he always
cried when the hero died.
MORE: http://www.normansaunders.com/
Norman Blaine Saunders (January 1, 1907– March 7, 1989) was a prolific commercial artist who produced paintings for pulp magazines, paperbacks, men's adventure magazines, comic books, and trading cards. On occasion, he signed his work with his middle name, Blaine.
Saunders was born in Minot, North Dakota. His earliest training in his eventual profession was though a mail-order art course. Saunders' career was launched when he started contributing to Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, and that led to a job at Fawcett Publications, where he was employed from 1928–1934. He once explained the curious events that led up to his arrival at Fawcett's offices in Robbinsdale, Minnesota:
- I was hitchhiking, got into this Model-T Ford with a big trunk strapped up and these two guys in front. One of them had a gun, a rifle. He said, "Keep your eye peeled on the back, kid, see if there are any police or motorcycle cops or something." What the hell was this? These two guys had robbed somebody, or tried to, out in North Dakota, and they had stolen this car from some farmer and were trying to get away. As we got to the outskirts of Bemidji, I was getting awful nervous. There at the town they saw a sand pit with a big hole dug out of it, and they took this car over and got out and pushed it in. They went that way, and I went this way. That night I caught a freight train to Minneapolis. I took a streetcar ride to the end of the line, and there was a two-story bank there and a big sign: "Robbinsdale, the home of Fawcett Publications." I said, "By gosh and by gracious, we got us a real true publisher here!" There was where they were printing Captain Billy's Whiz Bang.
MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Saunders
MORE: http://www.angelfire.com/film/locationbooks/images.htm
MORE: http://www.laluzdejesus.com/shows/previousshows/2003/saunders.htm
MORE: http://www.pulpartists.com/SN.html
One of Saunders’ painted covers recently sold at auction. The cover to Classics Illustrated #26 is astonishing. First of all, it grabs your attention because it deals with an oft-forgotten passage from Mary Shelley’s book, as the Monster flees across the Artic ice. Those only familiar with the Universal movies might be wondering what in the name of Boris Karloff is going on. Secondly, the image of the Monster is perfect – looking much more like a 19th century brute rather than the patchwork creation of the movies. This is a beautiful, beautiful example of Norman Saunders’ work and it’s easy to understand why it sold for more than $13,000. Although, when compared to the prices paid for by other covers drawn by the ‘greats’, this was a bargain.
MORE: http://www.americanartarchives.com/saunders.htm
MORE: http://www.meyereastgallery.com/detailed/default.asp?num=258&pict=6160
GO TO: http://www.normansaunders.com/
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