Pages

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Influences: Wallace Tripp

Wallace Tripp
I only have one book by Wallace Tripp, called "Wurst Seller", but I must have read it five hundred times.


This was before I had any sense of the variety of tools that a cartoonist used to create artwork, so what it was about his work that I liked was that, like other artists I've mentioned, he gave his characters and his illustrations a sense of weight and depth that made the world they were in seem that much more real. As a young cartoonist, I struggled with making my drawings seem three-dimensional, and any artist that could draw me into a panel like that got my immediate attention.


He also (and I appreciate this far more now than I did then) made economical use of his pen strokes-- using tight, controlled lines on the characters and important elements, and making more gestural shapes on background or inessential details.


But most of all I liked his ability to anthropomorphize animals and make them into interesting characters that were engaging without seeming forced, and resisted looking like the Disney and Disney-derived too-cute cartoon animal aesthetic. Like Bob Clarke Jones (who famously drew the Exxon Tiger), Wallace Tripp's work had a certain reality to them-- more like caricatures of animals than cartoons, if that makes any sense.



I subconsciously absorbed from his work a sense of line and shape, as well. The characters he draws are all derived from simpler shapes, and usually follow a strong, simple line in their motion.


I believe it was largely Wallace Tripp who gave me the sense of what it was that a cartoonist did as opposed to an illustrator (along with Bill Peet, the subject of a future influences page): to capture the essence of the subject, be unabashed about exaggeration where it serves the purpose of the drawing, and to CREATE the character on the page, rather than merely depicting it.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just to make a small correction: the Exxon tiger was lovingly drawn by Bob JONES, not Bob Clarke. Thank you.

foretastes said...

Wow, I know this comment is a bit after-the-fact when you posted but in doing a search for Wallace Tripp I came across your blog. I just wanted to add that I have Wurst Seller. I bought it years ago and it's been one of my favorites that I keep going back to. I'm a graphic designer by trade, dabbler of humorish illustration by desire. I love his sense of humor I see so much of myself and my own silly love for the pun in this book!

tina kugler said...

we absolutely adore wallace tripp, i can't believe so many of his books are out-of-print! if you can find them, "sir toby jingle's beastly journey" and "a great big ugly man came up & tied his horse to me" are must-haves. also, "'stand back!' said the elephant..." (written by patricia thomas) IS still in print, get it while you can.
ps. where is the image of the man with the elephants from?? that's great!

Unknown said...

The image of the man with the elephants (with the caption "Orator in sudden burst of elephants) is from Wurst Seller. That illustration, I felt, was one of the ones that made me think about dynamic motion. Those elephants don't just blast forth unidirectionally, they spray outward (semi-) unpredictably, and the freeze-frame illustration shows exactly that.

Anonymous said...

Hye, I have some original art by Wallace Tripp...he is a gift, for sure. If anyone is interested in purchasing a piece of original tripp art from Pawprints or his books, just let me know.

David said...

Thank you for posting these drawings by Wallace Tripp. "Wurst Seller" is actually one of the Tripp books I don't own (must find a copy soon).

He is one of my influences , too. Like you, I also return to his work again and again . Never get tired of looking at it .

Does anyone know how Wallace is doing these days ? I know he has not been active as an illustrator for many years due to health reasons, but until the last couple of years the website WallaceTripp.com was still being maintained . However, it's been down for a while now , with just a placeholder page where the site used to be.

I hope he is ok. If anyone knows how to get in touch with him I'd love to send him a letter thanking him for his books over the years and the continued inspiration.

Señor Tripp said...

I was researching one of the mighty Tripp books and found this (older) post-- I'm his son, and it's gratifying to see he's got such kind fans.
He's undergone two brain surgeries and a lot of medication -- he can't work any more from the Parkinson's Disease, but he's usually in a very good mood.
Anyway, there you go -- he lives on!

foretastes said...

Dear Señor Tripp! Please let your dad know how much his wit and whimsical illustrative style has meant to so many fans. He does indeed live on! My very best to him and you.

Dave Aldrich
Lincoln, RI

Colin Tedford said...

Oh my gosh, I didn't get this book young enough for it to be a big influence, but I've had it for years - what a charming oddball of a book! I'm delighted to see this here.

Casey Abrams said...

Hello, Would love to hear more about the Wallace Tripp art you have for sale if still avail. Thanks! Casey

jeje said...

0816jejeNé dans le laboratoire de air jordan 5 low retro alternate la NASA en utilisant une charge importante, l'impact du matériau se dégrade lorsqu'il est exposé à l'eau douce, à baskets nike roshe run femme l'air et à l'eau potable, ce qui le rend difficile à mettre en production en Air Jordan 12 Femme masse. Les sandales, les bottes et les chaussures de loisirs d'aujourd'hui combinent la mode, la Air Jordan 4 Baskets durabilité et l'ingénierie sonore pour créer des chaussures qui expriment la personnalité et offrent air jordan 5 independence day une protection spécifique. Nike Shox Deliver dire si cela devait arriver, Nike Shox Deliver pourrait chaussures nike air pegasus voir une toute nouvelle évolution dans la chaussure concevoir dans les années à venir que certains styles peuvent basket nike blanche strass commencer.

yanmaneee said...

christian louboutin shoes
yeezy boost 350 v2
adidas nmd
nike sneakers
christian louboutin
golden goose
nike air huarache
kd shoes
air jordan
nike off white

theteeski said...

z9h89z6q22 t9i93f9z61 j0a15u5s44 m2b82y7d71 b8p55y9j59 t0s80v7h84