Artist Discoveries: J.C. Leyendecker

Honeymoon by J.C. Leyendecker

Leyendecker is one of those pervasive artists whose works you have no doubt seen, his influence vast and yet I only "discovered" him fairly recently when I finally took the time to sit down and look at this magnificent artist's work in detail. Leyendecker was a very successful commercial artist in the early 1900's creating upwards of 300 pieces for the covers of the Evening Standard. His style is immediately distinctive, with a skilled use of brushwork that gives a vibrant energy to his creations. His style involves dynamic silhouettes, does not shy away from creative use of white space and stunning use of light and colour to make his subjects seemingly leap from the page.

Did I mentioned that I also love the way he blocks in the background? Sublime.