tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589105760911453392.post5095429909442888014..comments2024-03-28T15:08:55.350-07:00Comments on Art Contrarian: Melbourne Brindle, Illustrator and "Car Guy"Donald Pittengerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307228686847434740noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589105760911453392.post-76475778757210660972020-10-20T20:58:19.817-07:002020-10-20T20:58:19.817-07:00Mr. Brindle apparently also did illustrations for ...Mr. Brindle apparently also did illustrations for railroad-ads. I recently discovered one while researching history & background ideas for a model railroad. I came across it on the internet where can be viewed some wonderfully-imaginative & effective vintage-ads from decades-ago, which also could be startlingly-realistic & quite-beautiful. The one to which I'm referring specifically was done for the C&O RR, from 1943. It's leading-caption reads "Listen in the Night, America". Immediately intrigued, I read the text, written in a quietly-patriotic way. I don't know who composed these words but the illustration is by Mr. Brindle, whose signature appears toward the bottom-edge of the ad. I'd never heard of the gentleman and was quite-pleased to find the information presented on this site. The artwork is semi-monochromatic, all-blues & grays, dimly-shaded to create a starry, late-hour of the night. A man's standing at an apparently 2nd-floor window, looking out at the town, concentrating on a C&O freight-train, headlight beaming, zipping along in the distance, gentle hills in background,crossing an elevated-series of arches across a highway leading into the unnamed-town. Though late(the hour unspecified),the man's dressed in ordinary business-clothes, viewing the peaceful-scene stretching-out before him, standing at side-of-open-window, partially-concealed in the dim shadows of an unlit-room, though a small lamp's on the desk next to him. He's looking thoughtfully at the town & distant-train, realizing how the RR's still-meeting the needs of a wartime-nation, even in the dead-of-night. I've pondered whether the man is gazing from an upstairs hotel-window or boarding-house(the kind of small-town structures which existed in that era--probably non-air-conditioned--though time of year isn't revealed, except that it's likely not winter), or from the upstairs-window of his own home. Both the text & artwork are great--they do something to me inwardly, and I find it quite moving, appealing--and unusual!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05914177584144561480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589105760911453392.post-78082724187387056642019-02-26T04:27:26.008-08:002019-02-26T04:27:26.008-08:00Showing the cars sleeker than they are in reality ...Showing the cars sleeker than they are in reality seems to continue today in TV ads. I have often seen commercials for cars that look way cooler than the ones I see on the street. Watch a Ford pickup commercial, and notice how the truck rocks when it comes to a stop. It is obviously faked, but the ad creators thought it looked tougher or more appealing to would be buyers. Thanks for the postSheridannoreply@blogger.com