Similarities Between Leyendecker And Phillips

Channeling the Past to Sell the Present Two illustrators that stood out in the world of advertising were JC Leyendecker and Coles Phillips. Each made a brand for themselves, Leyendecker creating the idolized Arrow Collar man, and Phillips developing the classic fade away girl. They rose up as illustrators in their time because of the individuality and unique quality of their styles. They were innovators and created works unlike anyone else of their time. JC Leyendecker was dedicated to process. For each of his paintings he went through sketches, color studies, live model references, and more before starting the final piece. The quality of his work is a mix of refined and smooth shadows and chunkier highlights. The brush strokes are visible when observed up close, though far away the image develops an airbrush quality. Leyendecker was a classically trained artist, which is clear in his sense of composition and value. He however breaks the traditional mold with his bold brush strokes and application of paint in a cross hatching fashion, giving his illustrations a unique flair.
Phillip’s compositions were many times embellished with a decorative background, using intricate patterns and unique coloring. While cultivating his image, Phillips created what some historians credit as the first pin-up girl, which is now known as the fade away girl. The color of her clothes cleverly link the fade away girl to the background, making her seem to be close to the viewer, yet still fading far away. Phillips played with the foreground and the background, which now seems like a simple graphic device, though back then he had to carefully study the proportions of the canvas to the subject, and measure out the negative space being sure to create an interesting