Artist Blog: David T. Wenzel

http://www.davidwenzel.com/hobbit.html

David Wenzel is a contemporary illustrator, working mostly in the areas of mythology, fantasy and folk lore. He is best known for adapting J.R.R. Tolkein's The Hobbit into beautiful illustrations. Wenzel has worked for many major publishing companies and has created art for a plethora of successful books, such as The Wizard's Tale and Kingdom of the Dwarves. Wenzel has the uncanny knack of imagining fantasy worlds in his mind and penning them down for all to see in great detail; he often creates creatures and characters that do not have a place in pre-existing lore. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and two sons, who are all talented and successful artists. 

Much of David's body of work is inspired and contracted from previous literary writings. That being said, these canon works (such as scenes from The Hobbit, as shown above) are re-imagined and told in a refreshing new light. The scenes depicted so eloquently in Tolkein's words bloom with light and saturated colors in Wenzel's illustrations. Many of the scenes involve the figure and landscape in some way; a great sense of depth and grandness can be attributed to entire works and smaller panels within a storyboard. His use of warped perspective in a landscape further adds to the sense of scale in a work, allowing the reader to see more than would physically be possible. Suspending the world in this unreal way lends a fantastical vibe to the work. Just as Tolkien manages to weave an epic tale, we are able to see the epic scale of the characters' journey in Wenzel's paintings. 

   With the ultimate goal in mind of becoming an illustrator, this work is extremely appealing to me. The style is mature and treats the viewer as a competent reader who can grasp the complex themes and moments of Tolken's novel, but the work succeeds in also capturing a sense of vivid imagination and adventure. It is delightfully childlike in it's genuine zeal for the journey, but sophisticated in content and style. Composition and busy imagery bring these works to life, but they are organized enough that a viewer can comfortably follow through the images without trouble. You can tell Wenzel is a lover of fantasy, and even if that genre isn't your cup of tea, his renderings will tempt you to love it just as much as he does.