Illustrator David Johnson speaks in line.
Wonderful contrasts of line, textural hatching, spotted blacks and occasionally color enliven his illustrations and incisive portraits.
His compositions reveal a conscious arrangement of areas of the drawing as shapes — pictorial elements. Faces and figures, as well as background objects, are artfully arranged, and his layouts incorporate a keen awareness of negative space.
Johnson has done work for the New York Times Book Review, CBS Records, Time, The Atlantic Monthly, The Wall Street Journal and National Geographic, among others. He has also illustrated a number of books, and has received a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators in New York.
I particularly admire his portraits, often of historic figures, which project a lively feeling of personality and character.
You can find a gallery of his work on the site of his artists’ representative, Richard Solomon, which also features a bio. In addition, there is a brief description of his working process, using the drawing above, top, as an example. There is also a downloadable PDF portfolio.
You can find additional galleries of his work on Workbook and Altpick.
