Artwork & Words © Richard Ewing all rights reserved

Artwork & Words © Richard Ewing all rights reserved

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

If ...vanity

Revered in the 19th century, but viewed as incompetent in the 20th, George Armstrong Custer's impressive Civil War record was virtually ignored in lieu of what he was much better known for... ~~his fatal bravado at The Battle of Little Big Horn, and his vanity about how drop dead gorgeous he was.
...neither impressed the native Americans
© Richard Ewing. All Rights Reserved.
© Richard Ewing. All Rights Reserved.
© Richard Ewing. All Rights Reserved.
© Richard Ewing. All Rights Reserved.
© Richard Ewing. All Rights Reserved.
© Richard Ewing. All Rights Reserved.
.Thank you and enjoy.

13 comments:

  1. I had to Google Custer's name ( my knowledge of US history is not too excessive)
    It is impressive how you put him in this drawing. (his eye's and mustache are very well executed)
    And his end by Buffalo Calf Road Woman- impressive story as well.

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  2. Hehehe, very good one! I don't know if it's "vanity" illustration or not, but the caricature is brilliant!!

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  3. Am liking your post and the lil bit of history to go with the illustration. Always a pleasure looking at your process.

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  4. Amazing piece! The body gesture and flow up to that form filled head! Nice use of color with little pieces of bright guiding the way. The arrows add counter balance, story, and fun.

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  5. Love the arrows as accessories and the little details--freckles, translucent eyes--and as always, just the right amount of color in the right places.

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  6. Such a pretty boy! Er, horse. I especially like how you've shaped his head so it echoes the equine form. The flat nose curving into his mustache makes me want to pet this soft muzzle. I like the feathered arrows too. What changed your mind about the arrowheads? It's a really nice piece, Richard, and an interesting bit of history.

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  7. Well, I thought the arrowheads were better as implied, or incomplete allowing for the feathers to stand alone. The peculiar shafts with the blue ends are really peacock head-feathers (I shied away from the more expected tail-feathers).
    So the headdress speaks to his vanity and his defeat in one swell foop.

    .

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  8. this is really great :) I love the pose and I love the moustache and his hair looks great :D

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  9. Such equine beauty and lovely mane. I love the visual pun of the arrow/feathers as well. The elegant S curve supports the vanity concept as well. As always the drawing is excellent.

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  10. Excellent portrait of quite the historical symbol of vanity.
    I quite approve!! :)

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  11. Ok, thought it was a great Sam Elliot caricature before I started to read. Sam rocks a pretty good moustache and would certainly make a great Custer (although I'm not sure it's a role he would choose). That much said, really great technique (as usual) and love the progress sketches!

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  12. Wow. Great likeness, even better interpretation. And when YOU know you're drop dead gorgeous, one thing you don't worry about are other people's opinons.

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  13. I always love your caricatures, they are really wonderful :)

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