Ralph Steadman

He attended Cornell University, and after two years in the Air Force during the Korean War, he studied in Spain at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, the alma mater of both Picasso and Dali.

His illustration style brings to mind the ink splashing of Stephen Gemell or Ralph Steadman, and his canvases are often thick with paint-abstracted landscapes or contorted, non-realistic figures.

Most remarkable are his large sculptures that bring to mind the spiders of Louise Bourgeois or the assemblage work of Thornton Dial.

These sculptures were used in non-traditional art spaces such as parades or in his own films.

Making a bunch of ink blots and then reacting to them.

I love that you included Ralph Steadman in this.

This is the perfect example for it.

Like, you see a bunch of ink dots.

You might see a face or a field of flowers, and that's totally valid.

But Ralph Steadman, he sees an army of these demons coming after someone.

Really, it's just the possibilities are endless with this one.

But also, it's just ink blots.

Oh, sweet.

They're reissuing it in beautiful hardback with all of Ralph Steadman's art really well done in it.

It's a beautiful, beautiful reissue.

Cursolano by Hunter Thompson, for those who don't know.

Mm

... whole human being in a Ralph Steadman cartoon, right?

Mm-hmm.

It's terrifying.

Classic Thompson.

It features the original art by Ralph Steadman and a brand-new introduction by Natasha Lyonne.

And speaking of defining classics, Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire is getting a fiftieth anniversary re-release.

The goth classic by the New Orleans born author who was a longtime San Francisco sojourner.

But you, you know, being an artist and being a confident artist at that, which is just, that is extremely different, you know? I mean, this is why we for so many reasons, admire Hunter S.

Thompson and his illustrator, Ralph Steadman, who drew Nixon and who is still drawing Nixon probably right now.

And why we love people like William S. Burroughs and all of these bad ass people.

But we also need that Shel Silverstein book because we also need to be reminded of the beauty and the innocence and all of that stuff.

One of my favorite artists of all time is Tim Jacobson, or maybe

Tim Jacobs?

Anyway, the illustrator for the Goosebumps, that is... one of my favorite illustrators and it's an immediate, you know, the spooky images and it's an immediate connection to the book and then to that and to this, and it does bring that sense of, you know, that calming this and just kind of being level with life.

It's not too good.

My particular illustration style has always been very, it's very organic.

It's qu- it's quite Ralph Steadman, and it's, it's got that kind of I use traditional media, I use inks, I use dip pens.

And my, my professors would tell me to break a few nibs.

You know, that was their advice at the time because I would draw.

I wanted to be E.H. Shepard, and I wanted to be Edward Gorey, my ultimate hero.

And then I got into Tove Jansson, of course, a fellow Finn, Ralph Steadman, Gerald Scarfe, Charles Keeping, just so many different pen and ink illustrators, and Al Hirschfeld too.

And that's the, that's the sort of thing.

It's like you find your, you find your style.