Have you ever had a creative block? Three months ago I wrote about how I was frustrated I hadn’t been drawing for myself and how creative blocks can arise when your hobby and passion share the spotlight with your career. I get to draw for a living, but when I get busy drawing for clients, it’s hard to find a balance and return to what you do as a hobby when it’s also your bread and butter. Now there are lots of ways I’ve shared as an illustrator to help get out of such a block; drawing what you enjoy, returning to subjects that fueled you as a child, celebrating your fandoms, new takes on your older works, or finding joy drawing with children. Today I’m going to share yet another way to get your creative juices flowing and it also happens to be educational too (but not boring).
When you’re starting out, you draw what you see and love and while you try your hardest, no matter what, you’ll always give your own take on those things. When looking for a creative spark, taking this mentality to the masters is a great way to go! So today I’m showing off how recreating famous works of art is insightful, inspiring, educational, and best of all; fun!
Mona Lisa
1503–1506
Oil on white Lombardy poplar panel
Leonardo DaVinci
By far the most popular (and most parodied) painting of all time, the Mona Lisa actually owes its fame to its theft in 1911 (and subsequent recovery three years later). An opera, two films, and Nat King Coles smash hit song from 1949 have also attributed to its prominence. In my family, it’s also notable for having the same name as my mom!
Vector Art, 2013 & Photoshop of my mother, 2010
The Scream
1893
Edvard Munch
This painting's popularity stems from something everyone can relate to: anxiety of the human condition. The story goes that while on a walk on a fjord overlooking Oslo, the sunlight turned the clouds blood red giving Munch a sense that an "infinite scream was passing through nature." Scholars have suggested the odd light that evening were from the effects of a volcanic eruption... or the anxiety Edvard was experiencing due to the fact that his sister had been committed to a nearby asylum.
Digital Painting (Photoshop), 2015 & Vector Art, 2013
We Can Do It!
1943
J. Howard Miller (Westinghouse)
All the day long,
Whether rain or shine,
She's a part of the assembly line.
She's making history,
Working for victory,
Rosie the Riveter.
There are two famous works featuring Rosie, but today, most are familiar with Miller's render of the strong female production worker flexing while rolling her sleeves up. Back in 1943 however, most Americans wouldn't have seen that poster but rather have known Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post cover. Miller's piece wasn't even originally associated with the Rosie figure and was only seen by Westinghouse workers when it was displayed internally for only two weeks in February, 1943—sponsored by the company's internal War Production Co-Ordinating Committee—and wasn't rediscovered until the early 1980s. The Rosie character was originally popularized in song in 1942 by Suzy Bogguss and was a representation of the women who worked in shipyards and factories during World War II, replacing the men who joined the military.
I created my own version of Rosie for a Christmas card concept in 2020 for The Salvation Army. It was rejected, but that hasn't stopped me from resubmitting it every year since and for a number of other Army related projects too. For me personally though, it's the version of Miss Piggy as Rosie that I designed for ToughPigs 10th Anniversary in 2011 and which they've continued to use as their avatar across social media—something I'm incredibly proud of.
2011, Vector Art & Digital Painting (Procreate) 2020
La Dama Bianca
Marcello Dudovich
1918
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Usually someone says that when they're caught making fun of someone else and are trying to placate them before getting into more trouble. I'm using it as a creative crutch to help inspire my own art and write this entire blog post. In regards to this famous Art Deco poster however, it's frustratingly apropos. Marcello Dudovich is celebrated as one of Italy's greatest poster artists known for his very distinct and colorful style. From what I have gathered however, in regards to this famous Martini & Rossi commissioned poster (The White Lady), Dudovich designed the art to reflect the style of Leonetto Cappiello—another famous Italian painter known for his French posters. You can buy prints of this painting almost everywhere online, but there's very little information about the actual poster Dudovich painted available.
Dudovich’s original, and my own (Photoshop digital painting, 2019)
My take with Janice from The Electric Mayhem was part of a larger Inktober project you should checkout on ToughPigs!
The Son of Man
René Magritte
1964
Oil on canvas
Magritte’s original, and my own (Procreate digital painting, 2023)
When I was young and even more pretentious, I first saw some paintings by Jackson Pollock and scoffed, "How is this art? I could do this! Heck, anyone could do this!" To which my father immediately countered, "But you didn't." I hope he reveled in that moment as a dad by saying something so simple and yet so profound that it shut his obnoxious, teenage son up instantly. I've heard similar smart aleck comments about The Son of Man, and its initial knee–jerk reaction as just a dude with an apple over his face. But what's really fascinating about this piece is what it doesn't tell you. Everything you want to see—the man's face, the low wall, the seascape—are all obscured. Magritte explains his own art best, "It's something that happens constantly. Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us. This interest can take the form of a quite intense feeling, a sort of conflict, one might say, between the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present." Maybe it was the apple, but I originally wanted to make my own version out of emoji’s but decided to just draw it in that style myself.
The Thinker
Auguste Rodin
1904
Bronze sculpture
Rodin’s original (sort of) and my own (Photoshop digital painting, 2020)
The thinker has been cast in multiple versions around the world, but its complete history is a little murky. Rodin's first version was small and made out of plaster, but there are much larger versions, the most famous residing in Paris. The sculpture is usually associated with philosophy, but was originally named “The Poet” and was part of a larger commission for a doorway surround based on The Divine Comedy. Rodin's model was one of Rodin's regulars; a physically impressive prizefighter and wrestler who mostly appeared in France's red–light district.
The Creation of Adam
Michelangelo
1512
Fresco
Michelangelo's work on and involvement with the Sistine Chapel's ceiling proves that artists and designers have been dealing with the same bull$#!% for at least 500 years now. You see, originally he was commissioned by the Pope to build his holiness' tomb with a five year deadline (it took 40 and Mikey never felt satisfied with it). Another painter was miffed Michelangelo got the tomb gig and convinced the Pope to hire Michelangelo to do the chapel ceiling in a medium Mikey was unfamiliar with. That other artist's sole motivation being that this would result in Michelangelo failing (because what better way to elevate yourself by making the competition look bad?). Michelangelo convinced the Pope to let him wing it with a different (albeit more complex) design scheme than originally envisioned (because being your own boss gives you even more freedom) and thus, we have The Creation of Adam (along with the rest of the chapel ceiling).
The Immaculate Jim (Photoshop digital painting, 2010)
My own take is one I'm still very proud of featuring my hero Jim Henson and a few of his more iconic characters (including a certain frog and my boy Sam).
Man, I have a lot more of these than I anticipated! So tune in next week for more famous art, more fun historical trivia, and more ridiculousness from me! In the meantime, follow me on Instagram and Twitter! See you next week!