Tony,
I can't but wonder whether you would still have been producing cutaway masterpieces if you had moved to the States, or at least could have stayed in the business longer there. The Americans seem to be, or certainly to have been, more receptive to original, hand-made cutaway art than the British.
Speaking of line-and-wash, most of the pre-WWII aviation cutaways were done thus, especially those of Max Millar. In more recent times, John Batchelor did a lot of nice aircraft cutaways with line and (it appears to me) watercolour. I wonder if your method and style, Tony, would have been suitable for aircraft cutaways, what with aircraft usually being so physically large, complex and full of rivets and bits, that I assume illustrating a decent sized aircraft, say a modern fighter plane, using your racing car style might have taken years?
Now, since I seem to have nothing interesting to contribute to this thread, I might soon begin thinking about a list of 'cutaways I would have loved to have seen' - especially if they were works of Tony's...
Nurse! Gwendolyn! Drinky!
Hello Anders, nice to hear from you again! I would not have had a problem doing aircraft, and as I think I said earlier, if Jim Allington had been drawing aircraft then that is what I would have done too, no doubt. I was much more interested in 'planes than cars at the time. The demand for full-colour aircraft cutaways might never have arisen, if indeed it has now - I'm not up to speed on what is being done using traditional methods. In fact, Tom Johnson's lovely aircraft cutaways are the way to go, and if I was still illustrating, and doing large aircraft, or even cars, probably, I would have to be using Photoshop or whatever. As far as I'm concerned I got out at the right time. My only, small regret is that I didn't start earlier, so I might have done some big 60's sports-racers, and simply that I didn't do more, but you can only do what you are commissioned to do, or given permission to do.
As to moving to the States, who knows how that would have worked out. Much the same as elsewhere, I suspect.
My 'style' was not particularly time-consuming, the Lotus T97 took three hectic weeks, most illustrations only took four weeks - I wasn't given much more than that! Obviously there were exceptions, engines took longer, some cars were a problem - but if my technique had been a serious hold-up I would have adapted or change. As it was I was able to use my technique and meet the deadlines.
Ah, Gwendolyn! Thanks, just leave it there, not too close to the keyboard, we don't want another conflagration!
Nurse is still here, Tony dear, if you'd like another little...
No, it's alright Gwendolyn, I'm saving myself for you, a bit later...
Edited by Tony Matthews, 30 January 2010 - 22:19.
